Gavin Howe

Luckily it's had great reviews by great critics, and the critics never get it wrong. The movie equivalent of tale of "the emperors new clothes". Must have been sponsored by Fáilte Ireland (formerly called Bord Fáilte). (American Tourists! Visit Ireland, spend your dollars here) It's full of Irish tropes, the old woman ( Mrs McCormick) hanging about, like a bad smell, warning of bad omens etc, watching over the two main characters as they talk on the beech. Ah here, give us a break. The symbolism of the donkey. All this sort of thing has been done before. It's stale. The whole thing feels like it's written for the honours leaving cert English exam. Ah sure here in Ireland it's all so mystical & lyrical.