My Review - Four Letters of Love
In Cinemas now
My Rating. 10/10
As the song says "Anyone Who Had a Heart ." shouldn't miss Four Letters of Love .
I don't know if it's my Irish ancestry or my partner's but both of us were smitten by this Celtic romantic magical gem of a story.
It's been a while since we were inspired to see a movie at the cinema as pickings have been lean lately.
However the cast list and the location somehow convinced me to take a chance on a movie I hadn't heard of till a friend recommended it .
Thanks goodness I don't take much notice of publicity blurbs or reviewers because I've learnt that I'm the best critical judge of what I like and what I don't .
I've found more times than I care to remember that popularity at the box office often has nothing to do with craft or superb movie making, a small independent movie often wins me over more than a box office titan.
This is a beautifully filmed movie written by Niall Williams and the first of his books to be turned into a film, and Four Letters of Love is also his first screenplay.
Set in the west of Ireland, it is a story of love, faith and destiny centred around two troubled young people, Nicholas Coughlan and Isabel Gore, and their families.
Niall Williams was quoted as saying
"I think the geography of it was important,"
"I was very protective of that and happy that we could shoot it in Ireland and Northern Ireland."
Four Letters of Love" was filmed in Counties Donegal and Antrim in Ireland and Northern Ireland.
I'm not going to give much of the plot away because the story deserves to be viewed like a great painting and listened to like a great poem but I will concentrate on the wonderful ensemble cast with a brief description of each character.
I was so impressed with Pierce Brosnan who plays William Coughlan a man who after a life of clerical drudgery decides that his destiny is to paint so he leaves his wife and son and goes West to find his muse and destiny.
His son Nicholas a poet and author is so sensitively played by Fionn O'Shea who reminds me of a very young Ben Wishaw .
Nicholas secretly follows his father on his journey and has a fleetingly brief encounter on a bus with a beautiful young girl named Isabel Gore played with luminous charm and wit by Irish actress Ann Skelly.
Isabel's devoted parents Margaret and Muirus Gore are played by the sublime Helena Bonham Carter and Gabriel Byrne both give such warm and sincere performances. Their two children Isabel and son Sean played by Dónal Finn form the circle of love in this movie
Isabel leaves home to be educated by nuns in a convent and soon realises she must pursue her free spirit .
She escapes the austere authority of the nuns aided by Peader OLuing a young man with a car played by Ferdia Walsh-Peelo but is life with this charismatic guitar playing singer Isabel's destiny ?
I couldn't find fault with Four Letters of Love I found every character so adorable and every plot turn was filled with Celtic charm and a little bit of Irish blarney in fact I place this Irish classic alongside The Banshees of Inisherin.
Top marks also to Director Polly Steele who with obvious guidance from the author Niall Williams has recreated his novel to the screen.
