As a "stand alone" this film is quite passable. If, however, you are a fan of Maeve Binchy and have read the book, you will probably spend a good deal of the film comparing the two, and the film comes off unfavourably. Some of the differences are minor, but the ending is completely different. I have no intention of comparing the two endings here as I don't want to be a spoiler, suffice it to say that if you have read the book, the film ending is a major disappointment. I also think that Benny was totally miscast. That the Benny of the book is a big woman is relevant to the storyline, whereas Minnie Driver, although quite tall, can't be called big under any stretch of the imagination. The film characters seemed wooden to me in comparison with the book characters. However, if you're not into reading books, the film is worth watching.
Review of Circle of Friends
