Closing the Ring (2007)

A young man searches for the proper owner of a ring that belonged to a U.S. World War II bomber gunner who crashed in Belfast, Northern Ireland on June 1, 1944.

Director:

Richard Attenborough

Writer:

Peter Woodward

Stars:

Shirley MacLaine, Christopher Plummer, Dylan Roberts

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Shirley MacLaine	...	Ethel Ann
Christopher Plummer	...	Jack
Dylan Roberts	...	Wilbur
Gene Dinovi	...	Weeping Veteran
Neve Campbell	...	Marie
Allan Hawco	...	Peter Etty
Pete Postlethwaite	...	Quinlan
Martin McCann	...	Jimmy
Steve Franks	...	Bugler
Chris Benson	...	Local Sheriff
John Travers	...	Young Quinlan
George Shane	...	Maginty
Kirsty Stuart	...	Young Eleanor
Marie Jones	...	Mrs. Doyle
Karen Lewis	...	Mrs. Dean

Storyline

In 1943, A dying gunner, who was in a crash involving a United States B-17, gives a ring to a local to return to his girlfriend in the USA. Fifty years later, a man finds the ring and tracks down the girlfriend and the history of this ring. Set in Belfast and Michigan.

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Plot Keywords:

world war two | sex | nudity | female nudity | female rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

Discover the love of a lifetime

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for brief sexuality, nudity and violent images

Details

Official Sites:

Content Film Official site [Spain]

Country:

UK Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 December 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Closing the Ring - Geheimnis der Vergangenheit

Filming Locations:

Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$23,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

CTR, Closing The Ring Ltd., Premiere Picture

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Amell's voice was later dubbed over after filming for his character, Teddy Gordon, had finished.

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Quotes

Marie: I'm trying to understand what happened to her.
Jack: The war happened, for Christ's sake.

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Connections

Features The Glenn Miller Story (1954)

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Soundtracks

Smooth Talk
Composed by Ib Glindemann
Performed by The Carlin Sessions Band

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: Closing The Ring

Never make promises you can't fulfill, otherwise you'll find that nagging feeling coming back to haunt you, and it can be quite uncomfortable, unless of course it doesn't bother you as far as integrity and trustworthiness are concerned. Then again there's the living a lie, of not being true to yourself, which sometimes can be tricky when it deals with affairs of the heart, where ignorance may be bliss.

Closing the Ring throws its hat into the WWII era inspired romance stories, where boys turn into men, and have to leave their lady love behind at home while they ship off to the warfront. With events that unfold across two different continents, and unfolding between two different timelines with the necessary flash backs, flash forwards, and nicely edited transitions, the movie isn't that bad although the story might be at times clichéd.

Jack (Gregory Smith), Chuck (David Alpay) and Teddy (Stephen Amell) are three buddies who join the air force, and are training to be pilots, navigators and gunners, whatever it takes to bring them to the skies. Mischa Barton stars as young Ethel Ann who's the flower amongst the group, but only having romantic feelings for Teddy, whom she married in secret before the trio got shipped away to join the war.

That's the arc of the past, where we see how their relationship with one another hold up during mankind's darkest hour. The arc of the present has Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer take up the senior roles of Ethel Ann and Jack respectively, and on the other side of the continent in Northern Ireland, we follow Michael Quinlan (Pete Postlethwaite) and Jimmy Reilly (Martin McCann), where the latter is a simple minded teen helping the former fireman dig around Black Mountain in search of something of value.

I guess by now you can piece together a little bit of what could possibly happen, and added to the fray is the IRA's struggle for independence in 1991. Characters interact by crossing continents, mysteries and confirmation of what happened during those faithful and pivotal moments in WWII get revealed and explained, and feelings slowly get revealed, demolishing some long held denial and unawareness. Although given what would transpire, you wonder if it's remotely possible to pine for someone for so long, or to lock away your heart so cruelly that you shut off affections even for your own child.

It's still an enjoyable movie, though not exactly a great one but it does get to its point quickly. You might find yourself being a step ahead of the characters and piece together all the information provided way in advance, but still, if you'd enjoyed movies like Atonement and Evening, then you wouldn't find this that bad at all. Oh, and the English subtitles did help in deciphering some thick Irish accent.