Far and Away
Tags: romantic

Plot synopsis:
Joseph Donelly (Tom Cruise),a young Irishman facing property eviction after his father's death, decides to take revenge on his landlord, Daniel Christie (Robert Prosky). In his attempt to kill him however, he is discovered by Daniel's daughter, Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman) and is injured by her when he tries to escape. While injured he continues his plans to kill his landlord, but his weapon malfunctions and blows up in his face. Held captive while they treat his wounds (planning to subsequently have him hanged for attempted murder), Joseph tries to escape the house and is caught by Stephen Chase (Thomas Gibson), Daniel's arrogant manager. Joseph spits on Stephen in anger and, disgraced, Stephen challenges Joseph to a duel of pistols at dawn. Meanwhile, Shannon, also Stephen's love interest, is growing dissatisfied with the traditional views of her parents' generation and longs to be modern, even going as far as to disgust her mother and their friends by playing American music on the piano. She makes plans to leave for America to claim land that's being given away for free, and with her help, Joseph is able to escape. Shannon pays for Joseph's passage and he pretends to be her servant. This way, a single young woman is able to travel without question, and Joseph, now aware of the reality of the free land, can reach America to claim land. Shannon meets and talks to a kindly man on the ship about the promise of land and her money issues. He informs her that to claim the free land, she must travel to Oklahoma and race for it along with others. Concerned with the expense of travel, she explains to him that she has no money, only expensive silver spoons. He tells her he will help her find a shop to whom she can sell her silver to.Upon arriving in Boston, the man who provided advice steals her spoons and is shot by men who seem to have previous trouble with him. The spoons are scattered in the street and stolen by passersby. Calling for help, Shannon is rescued by Joseph, who manages to save her bag and get her out of the streets. Taking charge of their situation, Joseph is led to the community of Irish living in the area and speaks to the man in charge. Through him, they find a room to live in and jobs in a chicken processing plant. Due to Shannon's wealthy background, which is hated by the lower class Irish they find themselves surrounded by, Joseph lies and tells everyone that she is in fact his sister, to save her from being exiled or hurt. Time passes and it becomes obvious that Joseph and Shannon have become attracted to each other, but both keep up a front of hostility. One night, after peeking at Shannon undress, Joseph finds himself sexually frustrated and rushes out and joins in a barehanded boxing match. Winning the match provides Joseph with newfound wealth and becomes somewhat of a local celebrity. Meanwhile back in Ireland The Christie house is burned down by unhappy taxpayers, and they and Stephen announce that they will go to America to find their daughter.Temporarily, Joseph seems to forget about his goals of obtaining land and spends his money on suits and hats, in a thinly veiled attempt to impress Shannon. Shannon however, continues her work at the plant and mocks Joseph's prized hats. At one point, the pair have a spat and it becomes obvious that Joseph is extremely upset that he's not managed to gain Shannon's approval or admiration. Shannon begins to question Joseph about his plans to get land and his lack of money the night before the largest fight of his career. He replies angrily that he easily earns money and will continue to do so. He spitefully tells her that he earns more money than she could ever dream to. She retorts that she could earn just as much and disappears into their room. Later, right before the big fight, Joseph searches for Shannon, but is unable to find her. He's directed to his fight, told by others that she is there. Rushing to the site, he discovers she has become a dancer at the social club, demeaning herself to earn more money. He attempts to ignore the men pushing him towards the ring and covers Shannon with his jacket, demanding that she stop dancing. Before he can finish with her, the men around plea with him to fight. The Irish men backing Joseph offer him a small fortune ($200) for this one last, great fight. Shannon, who previously scorned boxing, urges him to do it, since it would be enough money to fulfill his wish of traveling to get land. Joseph agrees and begins to fight a large Italian fighter. All goes well until Joseph witnesses one of his backers (a member of the city council) forcing Shannon into his lap and groping her. Completely forgetting the fight, Joseph pushes his way through the crowd to free her. As he is pushed back into the ring his foot crosses the line, signalling he is ready to begin fighting, the Italian then beats Joseph. Because Joseph lost the fight he is then thrown out of the club. When Joseph wakes up he runs out of the alley he woke up in and runs into Stephen Chase asking drunkards if they've seen Shannon. Joseph then runs to his room to find the backers searching the room for their money. When they find it they take it, and throw Joseph and Shannon out into the snow covered street and tells the owner of the "whorehouse" that if she let them stay one night, it will be shut down.During a very cold night with no food, they become desperate enough to enter a seemingly abandoned house of luxury. Joseph shows signs of sadness at the beautiful things, knowing Shannon has suffered and deserves a better life than she currently has. He encourages her to pretend the house is hers, and offers to serve her. She's moved by this, but begs him to join her instead, and pretend with her, that they are married and the house is theirs. During the tender moment they declare that they 'pretend' to love each other and kiss. At that moment the owners of the house returns and chases them from the property, shooting Shannon in the process. Joseph brings Shannon to Christie's for help after she is shot. Stephen continuously scolds him and ridicules the state Shannon is in. Deciding Shannon will be better cared for here, with her family and wealth, Joseph leaves Shannon with her family, despite his obvious feelings for her.He then heads west to work on the Trans-Continental Railroad, seemingly abandoning his dream of owning land. After many months, Joseph is confronted by his father in a dream, and is reminded of his desire to own land. Joseph decides to join the wagon trains and arrives in Oklahoma Territory just in time for the Land Run of 1893, which will enable him finally reach his goal. Through chance he discovers Shannon, now healthy and obviously well taken care of, has also arrived. Confronting her, he discovers she arrived on train, riding the very rails he built. She offers him luck, but is rather cold and Joseph leaves disheartened. Stephen, who witnesses the exchange, warns Joseph that he will kill him if he goes near Shannon. Arriving late to the event, Joseph is forced to choose between two horses the unruly stallion or the broken slow horse. He choices the broken horse that gets killed that night he then is forced to ride the unruly horse. Shannon attempts to give him advice, but is quickly ushered away. During the race, Joseph chases after Shannon and Stephen, knowing that Stephen has broken the law and already found a very rich spot of land to claim. During the race, Shannon falls off her horse and Joseph rushes to her aid. Angered by this, Stephen races back towards them, instead of his goal, the land, and attempts to shoot him. They have a brief fight but Joseph manages to knock the gun from him. Shannon encourages Joseph to continue the race. He races Stephen to the land but then Stephen comes along and they have another fight in which Joseph falls to the ground, hitting his head on a rock, mortally wounding him. Shannon rushes to his side and finally rejects Stephen when he questions her actions. Stephen leaves and Shannon is left to try and keep Joseph alive. As he dies, Joseph finally confesses that he loves her, and without her, the land that was so important to him means nothing. He dies, and Shannon mourns, crying over his body. She tells him that she always loved him, from the first moment she saw him. This suddenly revives him, similar to an earlier scene involving his father, and together they happily drive their flag through the ground and claim their prized land.

Review: This is a fairly long movie but one that keeps your interest - at least it did mine - all the way with an epic-type adventure tale of Irish immigrants back in the 1880s in the U.S.This movie is broken down into three distinct parts: 1 - Ireland (40 minutes, featuring some stunning scenery and good Irish music); 2 - Boston (one hour, featuring many brutal scenes of tough Irish immigrants and bare-knuckle fights); 3 - Oklahoma (the days on mining and the famous "land rush.")The story is very intense and involving.
Then again, I'm old-fashioned: I don't like to see the bad guys win over the good guys.Overall, a memorable movie and one that you truly will care about the characters and the final outcome..
This film is admirable in several respects:  1)it shows how a romance can develop over time, without the typical Hollywood touches of "whirlwind" happenings and people hopping in the sack after only a couple of days (a la "Titanic"), 2)Ron Howard captured the beauty of Ireland, the filth of a large city, and the expanse of the open prairie by resurrecting 70mm film - the colors in this film are absolutely incredible, 3)a simple, character-driven story is enhanced by the historical backdrop.
In fact, there are many similarities between the romance in "Titanic" and in "Far and Away."  I feel that the depiction in this film works much better than the other, mainly because of the plausibility factor (how many times would you run into the same person on a huge ship?).
While the whole rich girl falls in love with the poor boy routine is a little over done, Far and Away is actually a very romantic and wonderful movie starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
Tom Cruise may have the "worst-looking" Irish accent on the face of the planet, but it is undeniable that he and Nicole Kidman are sizzling on the silver screen together.
The music (the best soundtrack of the year thanks to Horner) combined with Ron Howard's vision made the "land race" scene of Far and Away and classic within itself.
For Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman it's the land, their own bit of land to work as they please and answer to no one.The story of Far and Away takes place in a very specific time period in the history of both Ireland and America.
Turner's thesis is still a widely respected paradigm in the study of American history and I think if he could have seen Far and Away, he'd say Ron Howard proved his point.Speaking of Ron Howard, it's pretty obvious he was influenced by both versions of the Oklahoma land rush previously made in the two films of Edna Ferber's classic Cimarron.
Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise were both brilliant in their roles and the romance between Shannon and Joseph was very believable (most likely due to the fact that they were married anyway!).
It's wonderful to see Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman in a good film.
Misfortune leads them both to a poor part of Boston and they both dream of someday owning their own land, separately of course as each denies their obvious attraction to the other.Blatantly obvious continuity errors make this 'film' look like a home movie shot by children and edited by a monkey.
Tom Cruise(God help us)is full of the kind of robust "Irish-ness" that immigrates only from good old Hollywood, U.S.A. As for then-wife Nicole Kidman, I found her surprisingly right in her role, and right at home(she was born to wear these period costumes).
I actually never saw the end as I could not - well not without cringing behind the couch - watch the rest of this film.I have been in the remotest part of Ireland and never heard anything this bad.Please Hollywood treat the Irish accent with respect and stop all this nonsense..
Some great work from Colm Meany in the mid-section (probably the better slice of the story).The whole thing falls apart gloriously in the last thirty minutes, where we understand nothing (why is Kidman's family vying for territory?), huge themes are destroyed (Joseph's prudishness?
In the midst of convoluted plot lines, was that really IT?The #1 worst excuse for a bad movie is "Great photography/costumes/action." Far and Away doesn't give us anything we haven't seen before, and sure Ireland's great but you can always rent a helicopter video.
the movie is about Josef(Cruise) a young Irishman facing property after his father's death .he decides to take his revenge on his landlord.Instead, he is sentenced to a duel with his landlord .His only way to escape is joining Shannon(Kidman)the landlord's daughter who wants a wider country for her wide dreams(America) but when they get there,they realize they are not welcome.the performances are phenomenal and so is the production .
I'm sure a movie featuring a Sunni Arab nationalist in Mesipotamia in 1920 fighting against British occupation wouldn't be doing very good box office in America today Apart from the objectionable point of Tom Cruise being a Fenian FAR AND AWAY is a rather amusing film , note that I'm not saying it's a good film but an amusing one .
The year is 1892 and Irish immigrants Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) and Shannon (Nicole Kidman) have arrived at a shipping port in Boston, greeted by enticing faces who offer them jobs and safety...for a price.Joseph has used Shannon to help cross the Atlantic; there's a long prologue in which their characters are set up.
Essentially they become a romantic couple as time progresses, even though they're very different from each other - Joseph being from a poor upbringing and Shannon from a prosperous one.Joseph gets a job as a boxer for the local Irish ghetto warden boss, while Shannon becomes a dancer/stripper at one of the warden's bars.The movie was directed by Ron Howard and was one of those post-marriage Cruise/Kidman movies.
Kidman is okay but I've seen her give far more convincing performances.Overall this love story set in immigration America had potential and is pretty to look at, but the tale is a bit alienating due to the poor performances from the lead actors..
This movie has a painfully asinine storyline, pitiful dialogue, hokey acting, the subtly of a comic book, and manages to insult the intelligence of the audience (and the Irish) in almost every scene.The photography is beautiful, though, including the opening sequence, filmed on the Dingle Peninsula."The Quiet Man," hokey as it is, is more satisfying than this tripe, and has the benefit of moving through its storyline at a quick clip.
The chemistry was wonderful and the development of the characters is something I wish they would do more of in movies nowadays.This is truly a classic and one of Cruise's and Kidman's best performances.
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman are wonderful in this movie.
This movie makes you wish you could explore new lands (having Tom Cruise come along would be nice too!
Far and Away is a movie which you can watch again and again and again.Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman rocked the screen with their beautiful chemistry and fresh faces being married lately and looking awesome.The Okhlohoma land race was the best action sequence in a long long time.This is a movie you can watch with your family being no vulgarity in it and take home the DVD.The Irish accents seemed perfect and the makeup was awesome.The fight sequences between Tom Cruise and the others was overwhelming.Michelle Johnson did her part with beautiful perfection and touch.The performances have been just beautiful and awesome.I would like to give this movie 10/10..
there's no way someone would say something like that.Nicole Kidman does alright, and Tom Cruise does really well with the material ESPECIALLY when considered the bad direction.Overall not a film exactly WORTH seeing, it could have been so much better.Too much Cheese Ron Howard, all those slow motion "NOOOOOOOOOOO" moments..
But as one exasperated science fiction author stated, defending his use of metres and feet as measurements, he knows full well that a thousand years in the future people will have whacky units of measurement, but he's writing stories for 21st century English-speaking readers.In like fashion, Ron Howard was making a movie for 20th century viewers, and a bit less of a laughable accent would have made for a better movie.
Many people say that Tom Cruises Irish accent is a main draw back to the film but i don't think it is bad at all.
Hence the DVD looks better than most too.Overall i can recommend this film as great entertainment and its worth seeing for the end Land Race sequence, with the thousands of extras used for the one scene alone.Darren.
With its terrific cast and splendid production values, Howard's family saga looks like far and away the grandest new-old movie of 1992..
Continuing my plan to watch every Tom Cruise movie in order, I come to Far & Away (1992)Plot In A Paragraph: A young Irish couple (Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman) flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.Cruise teamed up with director Ron Howard for what should be a slam dunk for the the pair of them, but it ends up being a total misfire.
It's not all bad, it was a personal project for Howard and nobody can fault Cruise for trying something different, it does look visually impressive, but the story is not that good of believable (so much comes down to chance and coincidence) and the dialogue is poor, as are the accents on display.It takes awhile to get used to the Irish accent coming from Cruise's mouth, who is totally miscast, he was far too old for the role at 30 (he is repeatedly called "boy") but at least he is understandable, which is more than can be for some of the other cast early on.
When this first came out I knew I had to see it, bad film or not, (I think it's good) because I'm half Irish and my ancestors basically did the same thing as Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise.
That is because of, along with the over romanticised view of Ireland, the fact that Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman have the single worst Irish accents I've ever heard in my entire life.
"Far & Away" manages to do EXACTLY that by showcasing not only a compelling story, but also supplementing it with top-notch acting, high drama, and a soundtrack that is a perfect fit.For a basic plot summary, this movie tells the story of Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) & Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman), who leave Ireland of the late 1800s with each other (though not necessarily "together") in order to find freedom.
The ultimate prize: a chance for a land-grab into the newly demarcated Oklahoma Territories.First off, "Far and Away" is a great movie because it allows you to truly care about the two lead characters.
Would you rather have some cut-rate actors that can't conjure a fraction of the on-screen chemistry shared by Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise, just for the sake of a 'good' Irish accent?
It has a story, but it doesn't have guts to show it seriously - "Far and Away" is simply an eye candy.Stil, if you want to look at gorgeous N.Kidman, some beautiful shoots,good directing by a great R.Howard and a really interesting (not without a lots of clichés of course)ending, this adventure (and some romance, largely because of the chemistry between the leads) flick is for you - just don't take it to seriously, it's pure fun.
This is a movie that could cause a viewer to hate the Irish, hate Westerns, and hate Hollywood.Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidmann affect the all-time worst Irish accents ever.
If you love drama, romance, and Tom Cruise, I would recommend this movie..
Oh, and that person said if Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman's marriage is anything like their relationship in the movie, it'll last a very long time.
The film's young protagonists, Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) and Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman) have their first confrontation there.
(Cruise and Kidman were married when the film was made.) Shannon is a spoiled daughter of the family that owns the land that tenant farmers (such as the Donnellys) worked.
Far and Away is about Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman playing 2 Irish Immigrants who went to America to find a better living style.
I am also not a Tom Cruise hater and I think EYES WIDE SHUT is a great movie and he and Kidman are marvelous in it.But FAR AND AWAY is the kind of movie that brings out the film snob in me.
This is a long movie but keeps you hyped with the adventure tale of Irish immigrants back in the 1880s in the U.S. I liked how Tom Cruise played as Joseph.
They claim to be brother and sister to survive, but soon they can no longer resist each other's love, but their family may be too strong to let them be together when Shannon's family comes to get her in America.Far and Away is a very charming film that I'm sure you will be impressed with.
They claim to be brother and sister to survive, but soon they can no longer resist each other's love, but their family may be too strong to let them be together when Shannon's family comes to get her in America.Far and Away is a very charming film that I'm sure you will be impressed with.
Released in 1992 and directed by Ron Howard, "Far and Away" stars Tom Cruise as a young, grieving Irishman, full of spit and vinegar, who leaves for the new world with his landlord's daughter (Nicole Kidman).
Episodic in its western frontier telling, with many adventures, decent period details and some grand scenes i.e. the land rush which is shot on a huge scale with hundreds of extras, horses and wagons and stunts galore.Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman do a decent enough job with their roles, not much chemistry though for an (at the time) real life couple.
Eventually it ends in the great race to claim land in the Oklahoma Territories.The movie is beautifully shot by director Ron Howard.
After his father's funeral , the house which his father left to him, burned down by the landlord retaliation.For revenge to the landlord , Joseph tracking the landlord, and met his daughter,Shannon.Then they go to the united states.In United States,they experienced a lot of misery.But at last, Joseph use all of his money buy a horse,In the form of enclosure, went to the west to achieve a better long-cherished wish, and finally have a real fertile ground of their own, begin a happy life with Shannon.An Irish peasant, in order to escape the oppression of the landlord came to the U.S., he wants nothing more than a piece of their own land, a beloved woman, by working to earn money to eat, even though he had a handsome face like Tom Cruise, although he is love a girl like Nicole Kidman as , but what are the differences between them and ordinary people around the world Away from their homes, because no longer want to endure poverty, hunger, in order to no longer tolerate tyranny and cruel officials, in order to restore the dignity as a human being at least, the pursuit of human happiness and good.
Nicole Kidman is good and Tom Cruise's personality remains magnetic despite his dodgy accent.
This movie shows those conditions very well.This is worth watching, but you probably won't enjoy it if you don't like Tom Cruise..
You can't help fall in love with Tom Cruise with his tweed hat and little Irish accent, or get to know Nichole Kidman before she became skinny as a stick.
I first watched it in my U.S. History class a few months ago, and I loved the movie all I could think about was "I have to get myself a copy of this movie!"I loved it, but the first time I saw it was eight years after it was released in theaters, but then again I was nine when it was in theaters and when your that young your not really fond of romance movies, but I loved this one, the plot was great, the storyline was, the acting was superb, Tom and Nicole did an excellent job at faking their Irish accents especially Mr. Cruise and well I also think that Tom looked incredible hot in this movie he certainly was rather young when he did this movie.I can't help but compare this too Titanic because basically it was the same thing, but Titanic wasn't exactly realistic when it comes too love, but Far and Away is..
**Possible Spoilers** In 1892 Ireland, the son of a poor farmer forms an unlikely alliance with the daughter of a wealthy landowner, in `Far and Away,' a romantic adventure directed by Ron Howard, and starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
`Far and Away' is well made and delivered, and, most importantly, it's an entertaining movie; perhaps not one of the most memorable Howard has made, but it's an enjoyable film, and well worth seeing.
It's the straightforward tale of two Irish folks -- Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise) and Shannon Christie (Nicole Kidman).
Land Makes The Man. The historic Oklahoma land rush of the 1890s serves as the focal point for director Ron Howard's "Far and Away," an ambitious, sprawling, romantic adventure epic co-starring Tom Cruise & Nicole Kidman.
Of course, nobody goes to a Tom Cruise movie to watch him act, much less evolve as a character.
It is a good movie to watch if there is nothing else but please do not judge the Irish by the accents of Tom and Nicole..