dorothy burgess

I wondered, with some misgivings, how Sebastian Barry’s prize-winning novel of the same name, would transfer to the screen. Jim Sheridan has done a wonderfully scenic and atmospheric interpretation that brings Barry’s characters sensitively to life. The small town west of Ireland village with its prejudices, gossipmongers and religious straight jackets, wreak a terrible havoc on the life of Roseanne McNulty. Such perverse punishments were given to women by those in flimsy authority, their cruel hypocrisy wielded like a knife to sever human love and condemn the innocent. Uncomfortable at times to watch, but it should be to bring home the evil of such unloving injustice. Bravo to all the exceptional cast, Redgrave is astonishingly heart-breaking … and bravo to the memory of women like the indomitable Roseanne.

Don’t know how Hugh Dennis kept his face straight until his pervert character had a stroke (!) then he had to keep it lopsided. This “drama” is an insult to viewers’ intelligence if meant to be anything other than a showreel or pilot for aspiring comedians. Winner? The neighbour with the dog.