Tara Road (2005)

Two women -- one American, one Irish -- swap houses and alter the course of their lives.

Director:

Gillies MacKinnon

Writers:

Cynthia Cidre (screenplay), Shane Connaughton (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Marc Barr, Sarah Bolger, John G. Brennan

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Marc Barr	...	Andy Vine
Sarah Bolger	...	Annie Lynch
John G. Brennan	...	Brian Lynch (as Johnny Brennan)
Jennifer Buckley	...	Secretary
Virginia Cole	...	Mrs. Doyle
Eileen Colgan	...	Nora
Alan Devlin	...	Barney McCarthy
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Rosemary Ryan
Enrique Fonseca	...	Limo Driver
Jia Francis	...	Heidi Franks (as Jia Frances)
Brenda Fricker	...	Mona McCarthy
Bronagh Gallagher	...	Polly
Iain Glen	...	Danny Lynch
James Herrick	...	Hubie
Bosco Hogan	...	Accountant

Storyline

Two grieving women - Ria, a Dublin mom whose husband discloses he's in love with a woman already pregnant, and Marilyn, a Connecticut Yankee whose son has died - swap houses for a couple months. Marilyn finds solace in Ria's garden and becomes friends with Colm, a local with a restaurant and his own demons. Ria gets a job cooking, has a date or two, and gradually comes out of her shell. Meanwhile, Ria's husband Danny has problems, economic and personal, that may bring more ruin to those close to him. The house on Tara Road comes to stand for the past, for possibilities, and for what can be lost.

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Plot Keywords:

restaurant | connecticut | female protagonist | dublin ireland | vase | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes you must lose your life to find a new one...

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for thematic elements, language and some sensuality

Details

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2005 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Aprendendo a Viver

Filming Locations:

Kenilworth Square West, Rathgar, Dublin 6, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Noel Pearson Productions, Pageturner Productions, Sarah Radclyffe Productions Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Maeve Binchy, author of the novel on which the movie is based, makes an uncredited cameo as a restaurant patron. She can be glimpsed seated at the end of the bar, right after the scene where Ria offers to take the job advertised at the restaurant cashier's counter.

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Goofs

The US scenes supposedly take place in New England, but include a shot of an Interstate 75 road-sign. I75 goes nowhere near the east coast.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Tara Road' (2005)

User Reviews

It's a good follow-up to the book

I think the movie did a good job of "summarizing" the book. I don't think it's possible to develop characters as well on-screen, as in a few hundred pages of paper and ink. A mini-series would have done the book more justice. I can see where it would be possible to see this movie, and be disappointed.

If you've read the book, you'll like the movie. If you don't like to read, get the audio CDs.

This story is a summary of a book with vivid descriptions of places and people. The "mind movie" that resulted from reading the book, pretty much matched what I saw on the screen. The home in New England... well, didn't look like New England.