The Eclipse (2010)

"The Eclipse", is a quiet, gentle masterpiece, an original blend of seemingly incompatible genre. Bit of a horror, tad of a romance and a dash of comedy, but it all stays together and enhances the remarkable flavor. Lonely widower hosts a literary conference, while drowning in the overwhelming current of grief. Hence, he meets two writers and that is pretty much the plot. Simple and unforgettable, directed with an assured hand by the writer Conor McPherson and played beautifully by all three protagonists. Ciaran Hinds stands out among three with strong, but subtle presence. His deep sadness just breaks your heart. Lovely surprise.

Dear Irish Film Board, the next time you feel you absolutely must include a love triangle in a (horror) drama, at least make sure you choose a woman that is worth fighting over and that the male audience can show interest in. The British Isles are famous for their gorgeous freckled women, so I really don't see why Iben Hjejle was cast to be anyone's love obsession, much less Aidan Quinn's, who I hear is quite popular with the ladies. She looks like Amanda Plummer, frcrissakes. Aidan Quinn gets a panic attack over her, then gets drunk coz she won't commit to him, and then into a fist-fight. Or did I just dream it all? Actually, as it turns out, she is Danish. (They have beautiful women too, so WTF.) Dear Irish Film Board, it's me again, the somewhat disgruntled viewer of your drama-pretending-to-be-also-horror-so-that-it-makes-more-cash, "The Eclipse". The actress Iben isn't even English, yet she was impersonating an English woman for the role. Why would you cast an unattractive Danish woman with a strange accent when you could have easily found a charismatic, sexy British lass with the proper accent for the role? Why do you hate your viewers so much? Why dabble in filmic black magic arts when you can have it straight-forward and effective?Why do some producers seem to believe that beautiful women don't belong in serious drama? Meryl Streep and Glenn Close are a staple of those. If you want more guys to see your darned chick-flicks, you might as well make a radical change in attitude, people.TE is a rather forgettable, pointless drama in which the ghosts pretty much suffer from extreme neglect. Their appearances, what few there are, serve as mere plot-devices to fuel the romance between a depressed widower and an ugly Danish actress with a damn unpronounceable name. All this, just so we can have that utterly predictable punch-up between the widower and Quinn at the end, in which – thankfully – Iben gets punched in the face as well. (And I attest to the fact that the hit actually improved her face somewhat.)

"The Eclipse" is a surreal walk in the shoes of a few Irish villagers. Some have criticized this piece for being somewhat disjointed and confusing. I must heartily disagree! It is simply a limited time in life of a few very interesting people in Ireland at a Literary Conference and how those lives rode a little rougher when disturbed by the supernatural.For those who have forfeited pieces of your heart a bloody chunk at a time after losing someone dear, this movie will inspire. Our psyche, often in partnership with our dreams, can work through some regret, pain, loss, guilt and loneliness by gifting us very real visions in which we touch or hug that loved one, possibly even sharing meaningful words with them. In 2006 my sister died in a fire. On and off, for a few years, I experienced the sound of her calling my name in the night shortly after I fell asleep. This happened several times, waking me, bringing me to actually look for her. In fact, many years before that, I had the opportunity to be with and hold my infant daughter, who died of SIDS when she was 5 months. I held her preciousness in my arms and played with her several times over a matter of years. This always seemed to occur in the twilight of my sleep. At first, I experienced the loss of her, magnified when I awoke, knowing it was a dream; after a couple of years, I unexpectedly became grateful for the privilege to spend that time with her. Since my loss, I have talked with so many people who have experienced similar incidents. I can almost imagine these phenomena taking themselves just a step further. Can't you? The enigmatic Ciaran Hinds has held my attention since I first noticed him in Jane Austen's "Persuasion". He seemed an unlikely, oafish sort for the part. I was wrong. The man, as I have witnessed since, is a great character actor and quite a strong, yet vulnerable, lead.The music was beautiful and apropos, the subject matter intriguing, the acting well done and as a note of interest, the writer, Billy Roche, was the host of the literary event. While he was just short of invisible, he managed to create some comic relief. This was an eccentrically mysterious movie you will either love or not. It IS definitely worth the time to give it a try.

This chilling and thoughtful thriller from top Irish playwright McPherson exemplifies what movie makers who've earned their chops on the stage can bring to the big screen. The characters are three-dimensional; sharp, efficient dialog defines the relationships and moves the plot forward; life in a recently bereaved family, a small Irish town, and a literary festival is acutely observed.The Eclipse maintains a spooky tension throughout and in a few instances will have you jumping out of your skin. (One minor criticism: Loud incidental music is constantly deployed to manipulate viewers, a perennial flaw of many mystery and horror films.) However, this is not a traditional ghost story but a psychological drama filtered through the perspective of the widowed father masterfully portrayed by Ciaran Hinds. It's probably not too much of a stretch to compare The Eclipse to In Bruges, the debut film of Martin McDonagh, another acclaimed U.K. dramatist, in the way it exploits the conventions of genre even as it defies formula to tell a more original, gratifying story.A bonus: The cathedral-dominated town of Cobh, Cork County, provides a stunningly picturesque backdrop to The Eclipse, while adding to the overall isolated, claustrophobic atmosphere.