CIRCLE OF FRIENDS
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1995 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows, Alan Cumming, Colin Firth. Screenplay: Andrew Davies. Director: Pat O'Connor.
Maybe it's just a matter of perception, but movies seem to come out in thematic waves. 1994 was widely noted as the year of the simpleton, with both dramas (NELL, FORREST GUMP) and comedies (AIRHEADS, DUMB AND DUMBER) focusing on those with social or intellectual handicaps. 1995 may well turn out to be the year of the Celt, with John Sayles' THE SECRET OF ROAN INISH already in theaters and the highland adventures BRAVEHEART and ROB ROY due this summer. Between them comes a small Irish coming-of-age tale called CIRCLE OF FRIENDS. Though it occasionally loses sight of its strongest elements, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is mostly a warm, charming and insightful little romance, buoyed by a delightful performance from fresh face Minnie Driver.
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS takes place in 1957 Ireland, where lifelong pals Bernadette "Benny" Hogan (Minnie Driver) and Eve Malone (Geraldine O'Rawe) are preparing to leave their small home town of Knockglen to attend the University of Dublin. There they re-connect with Nan Mahan (Saffron Burrows), an old schoolmate who had moved years earlier. Their lessons come both inside the lecture halls--where their traditional Catholic upbringing and morals are challenged--and outside. All three friends seek to reconcile their religious beliefs with their newfound romances, particularly the repressed Benny, who falls hard for Jack Foley (Chris O'Donnell), the school's handsome rugby star. Nan, meanwhile, has designs on marrying into the wealthy family of Englishman Simon Westward (Colin Firth).
Based on a novel by Maeve Binchy, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is mostly about the struggle between holiness and hormones, about three young women whose growing curiosity about sexuality collides with the Catholic Church's pillars of "guilt and shame ... and fear" as defined by their anthropology professor. When Benny is the focal point of this exploration, CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is an unqualified joy. She is the most introverted of the three when the story begins, an over-protected only child required by her parents to commute to the university while living at home, and targeted for a business-based arranged marriage with her father's slimy employee Sean (Alan Cumming). However, as her relationship with Jack blossoms, so does Benny. Minnie Driver is enchanting as Benny, a shining if unconventional beauty with a sharp mind and a keen sense of herself. Her growth is thoroughly convincing because she neither begins nor ends as an extreme; hers is a slow but noticeable growth from girl into woman.
CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is also interesting because the romance between Benny and Jack develops in an unconventional way. This is not some John Hughes-like story where the wallflower suddenly wins over the socialite at the end, because Jack in his own way is as confused as Benny is, making their friendship and affection for each other completely natural. Chris O'Donnell's Irish accent slips here and there, but mostly his is a very relaxed and confident performance as a pretty boy lacking in confidence. The scenes between Driver and O'Donnell are the film's highlights, particularly an uncomfortable little exchange in which they ask each other about their previous sexual experiences.
The primary problem with CIRCLE OF FRIENDS is that when the story isn't focusing on Benny, it is more melodramatic and far less enjoyable. Too much time is spent on Nan's carefully planned attempts to land a rich husband, and the rather melodramatic plot developments which accompany those attempts work against the simple believability of Benny's story. Saffron Burrows is also rather dull as the beautiful Nan, and for as much time as we spend with her character, her motivations are never really clear. Similarly distracting is the sub-plot concerning Sean (played to low-life perfection, however, by Alan Cumming) and his wheelings and dealings with Benny's family. The conflict between the three friends' Catholic morality and their earthly desires is much more interesting than the somewhat contrived external conflicts, and generally more amusing besides. CIRCLE OF FRIENDS takes some unfortunate and unnecessary detours, but Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donnell take the film's central story and turn it into a real winner.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 confessions: 7.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews