First of all, I've never read the novel by Maeve Binchy, so I'm not going to make a comparison between the book and the movie.
The plot:
Set in the 50s. Three young Irish girls with distinguish personalities get their share of lessons about friendship, love, family, betrayal and college life.
The characters:
Minnie Driver is very convincing as Benny, the straightforward, sensitive, caring, and humorous virgin with plum curves, a radiant smile, and expressive eyes. She is an only child and lives with her modest family, taking the bus on a daily basis to go to college in Dublin.
Chris O'Donnell is Jack Foley, a wealthy medical student and rugby star. He is attractive and a tad naive. He and Benny fall in love, their attempts to get close to each other, both in the physical and the emotional sense, are clumsy (because they lack experience), but sincere and touching.
Geraldine O'Rawe is Eve, Benny's lifetime friend, an orphan who was raised by the nuns but who has enough guts to ask for and obtain a scholarship, and stand up for Benny against Nan when need be.
The pretty Saffron Burrows plays Nan, Benny and Eve's childhood friend, who left the village early to live with her family in Dublin. She is very aware of her attractive looks, and attempts to use her wannabe sophistication to trap a wealthy man into marriage when she becomes pregnant with his baby (predictable). But the man rejects her (again, predictable), and so she betrays Benny by seducing Jack and claiming afterwards that she is carrying his child.
Alan Cumming is excellent as Sean Walsh, Benny's father's employee who constantly attempts to seduce the young girl, to no avail. You will probably hate him in this role, he truly is despicable, manipulative, sexually obsessed, voyeur, irritating, etc. His hairstyle (a fringe on the right please) and suspenders make him look ridiculous. In one word, Walsh is a real pain, but Cumming gives an excellent performance here. His sleezy mimics cannot go unnoticed.
The Irish landscape, with its hilltops, pittorresque rivers, woods, small roads, and adorable cottages is one of the fine aspects of the movie.
There isn't much to analyse here, the story line is simple and the dialog pretty straightforward. The overall atmosphere of the film is friendly, warm and 'cozy'.
There is definitely an emotional bond between Benny and the viewers, unless you're too much of a cynic to sympathize with a sensitive, self-conscious, modest girl set on a (realistic) journey of womanhood.
