The movie starts by breaking the fourth wall in that we are introduced to the movie set and the camera moves slowly into a mockup of an Irish croft and then we see an actress in the cottage ready to perform and then we are in the drama. At the end of the movie, the same device is employed to take us out of the story and back to seeing that this is just that: a story.
I have absolutely no idea why they did this or what they hoped to accomplish by it other than to give an arty tone to the whole thing and to give film critics something to talk about.
The cinematography of this film is absolutely stunning and worth watching for that alone, and I'm not someone who usually notices things like that. The lighting within the croft is wonderful. The whole story revolves around the theme of religious fanaticism, and whether a saint is being created, and in some shots the light catches the girl and turns her into a holy mystic. The colour of Pugh's dress, tones of blue, catches the eye at every turn in this stark, Irish landscape of earthy hues.
As to the story itself, it's genuinely interesting. I didn't see the resolution coming, but it worked.
My only reservations with the movie are that it, yet again, takes modern themes and elbows them into historical drama. The main character, Mrs Wright, strode through the landscape as if she was on a me-too, feminist crusade. She did not come over as a nineteenth century woman. Tom Burke was so entirely wasted in this film that I didn't even recognise him until I checked the cast list. His performance was clearly sidelined to focus on the story of women. So, just for a change we have a film about women... So, fantastic filming, quite interesting story, but a bit of a wade through Irish mud literally and metaphorically with some women with serious mental issues. So, as I said, not a barrel of laughs.
I have absolutely no idea why they did this or what they hoped to accomplish by it other than to give an arty tone to the whole thing and to give film critics something to talk about.
The cinematography of this film is absolutely stunning and worth watching for that alone, and I'm not someone who usually notices things like that. The lighting within the croft is wonderful. The whole story revolves around the theme of religious fanaticism, and whether a saint is being created, and in some shots the light catches the girl and turns her into a holy mystic. The colour of Pugh's dress, tones of blue, catches the eye at every turn in this stark, Irish landscape of earthy hues.
As to the story itself, it's genuinely interesting. I didn't see the resolution coming, but it worked.
My only reservations with the movie are that it, yet again, takes modern themes and elbows them into historical drama. The main character, Mrs Wright, strode through the landscape as if she was on a me-too, feminist crusade. She did not come over as a nineteenth century woman. Tom Burke was so entirely wasted in this film that I didn't even recognise him until I checked the cast list. His performance was clearly sidelined to focus on the story of women. So, just for a change we have a film about women... So, fantastic filming, quite interesting story, but a bit of a wade through Irish mud literally and metaphorically with some women with serious mental issues. So, as I said, not a barrel of laughs.