THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1995 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Mick Lally, Eileen Colgan, Jeni Courtney, Richard Sheridan, John Lynch. Screenplay/Director: John Sayles.
That John Sayles continues to make films is something of a testimony to his dedication, and that his films continue to be released is a testimony to an audience somewhere out there with taste and intelligence. Sayles has been relentlessly his own animal as a writer-director, making movies like THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, MATEWAN and PASSION FISH which have been marketing nightmares because they were unique tales that a single tag line couldn't capture. As those examples also show, Sayles doesn't help his cause any with catchy titles. THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH is another of Sayles' unconventional efforts, and yet another work of art, a beautifully filmed tale of myth, magic and the power of oral history.
THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH opens in 1946, with 10-year-old Irish girl Fiona Coneelly (Jeni Courtney) being sent away to live with her grandparents on the isle's Western coast after the death of her mother. Grandfather Hugh (Mick Lally) is a fisherman who tells Fiona tales of the family history, and brings her out to the family's abandoned lands on the island of Roan Inish. It was during the family's mass departure from the island five years earlier that Fiona's infant brother Jamie was washed out to sea in his cradle, an event which still troubles Grandmother Tess (Eileen Colgan). But Tadhg (John Lynch), a Coneelly cousin, tells Fiona of a legend connecting the Coneelly family to the seals of Roan Inish, a legend which strengthens Fiona's belief that Jamie is still alive and living on Roan Inish.
I have made no secret in the past of my inordinate fondness for tales of mythical Ireland (most recently 1993's INTO THE WEST), and it is true that THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH plays to all of my weaknesses. Gifted cinematographer Haskell Wexler captures stunning land- and seascapes with clarity even through layers of mist, and his interiors are close but inviting. Mason Daring's arrangements of traditional folk melodies provide the perfect complement to Wexler's images, full of soaring tin whistle and plaintive violin. Most effective is Sayles' unsentimental directing style, which presents ROAN INISH's more mythical elements so matter-of-factly that they take on even more of an aura of wonder. The Ireland of THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH is full of magic, and Sayles presents magic as an understood part of the tapestry of Irish life.
What keeps the magic alive, however, is the oral tradition, and this is what Sayles is truly celebrating in THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH. Several key events in the film unfold in flashback, but always accompanied by the voice of a tale-teller (usually Hugh, on one occasion Tadhg). Even though we are also seeing the events described, it is the words which are truly memorable, spoken with passion and conviction, a direct link through time between individuals and their history. The story eventually becomes very much about the consequences of abandoning one's history, and Sayles makes his case strongly for the importance of maintaining those connections, as well as the sheer joy to be derived from the sharing of family legends. At a time when tradition is a somewhat unfashionable concept, Sayles has crafted a love poem to tradition.
There is probably not a single name or face in the cast of ROAN INISH which is familiar to American audiences, but the performances are mostly charming and understated. Mick Lally is delightful as the seafaring grandfather, and John Lynch is dark and mysterious in a small but significant role. Newcomers Jeni Courtney (Fiona) and Richard Sheridan (Fiona's cousin and co-conspirator Eamon) have their weak moments, but are basically solid. THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH is lyrical, low-key and evocative, which could translate to "slow and boring" for some audiences. Those with a taste for something crafted with grace, confidence and a feel for the power of a well-told tale will find this one SECRET worth sharing.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 family legends: 9.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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