Product: Ryan's Daughter (Two-Disc Special Edition) (2006)
Rating: 4.0
A Wonderful & Absorbing Drama Set in Seaside Ireland!
No one was a more masterful film maker than was David Lean, the British director who brought us such unforgettable classics as "Lawrence of Arabia", "Bridge Over the River Kwai", "Doctor Zhivago" and, of course, "Ryan's Daughter"(see my reviews of all these films). The cinematography in all of Lean's films is always spectacular and breathtaking, for Lean had a special appreciation for how the nature of one's natural surroundings set the stage and influenced the dramatic proceedings. Lean characteristically focused his films on the ways in which individuals and their personal characteristics clash and meld with the larger social, cultural, and historical surround in which they are located, and so each film is a uniquely captivating study of the specific dynamics of each particular individual situation. Each of these films is also a well-choreographed and photographed excursion into the topography, climate, and landscape of the geographic location in which the drama unfolds. The eyes and ears are always delighted by what Lean displays.Here both the Irish seascape as well as the bucolic countryside underpin this classic tale of how different life circumstances trap and constrain individuals, and how much each of us are affected by the greater social surround in which we interact. Robert Mitchum is cast against type, and does a marvelous job as an aging bachelor who has caught the fancy of a young and extraordinarily beautiful student who wants him to fulfill her youthful fantasies about all those adult characters he taught so ably about in class. Of course, the young woman, played ably by a young and gorgeous Sarah Miles, is bound for disappointment and a rude awakening. Things are not always as much like these literary descriptions as she had hoped.Into the picture comes an attractive, dashing, and daring young English soldier, played by Christopher Jones, who is immediately fatefully attracted to the young and foolish woman, and eventually an affair begins. All of this is set in the climate of both the Irish `troubles' and the threats associated with the ongoing First World War in Europe, in which Ireland is anxiously uninvolved. As in all of the Lean movies, the ways in which each character's nature, individual characteristics, and personal foibles project themselves into the larger social circumstances provides the focus of the unfolding story. While the plot is nowhere near as memorable as in some of Lean's other movies, the story is well told and is an interesting and compelling look at small town life in an isolated and provincial Irish village in the early years of the 20th century. I always enjoy watching it; any David Lean film is a lovely experience that is an enchanting way to while away a rainy Sunday afternoon. Enjoy!