Love's Portrait

This is a fairly standard quest story with some romantic fantasy thrown in. The quest is for the source and history of the painting. Lily and William spend much of the movie on a leisurely paced quest. I found it a little too leisurely.

There is a bit of obsession with a cross between finding/having a soulmate and destiny. That's the romantic fantasy part because the story seems to prove one or the other or both.

I had trouble finding much chemistry between Aubrey Reynolds and Richard McWilliams. McWilliams was restrained and William's secret (which we learn very early) keeps an invisible barrier between them.

The boss, Michelle, was over the top annoying in the beginning but quieted down at least a little after that.

This movie was mostly a miss for me. It wasn't because of Aubrey Reynolds who held her own and her looks are attractive and mysterious at the same time. My main impression of the movie is a slow shallow story which wasn't helped by the obsession with the idea of a soulmate.

But I think many, especially less right brained people than me, will love this.

I enjoyed the movie a lot and everything about it - the interesting romantic plot, the talented and handsome actors and the beautiful scenery. It is about the idea of soulmates, do they exists and seeing your soulmate in your dreams. I loved this idea, because like William, who saw Lily in his dreams and painted a portrait of her before they met, I "saw" my sweetheart a long time before we met. However, I described him in detailed writing and even described one of our trips, which would take place eight years after I wrote about it. I was wondering, is this random. How can it happen, but perhaps we are true soulmates.

I love the idea in the movie that if you meet your soulmate, you can't let them get away, and you have to do something to make your dream a reality. Lily and William almost missed each other. What happens, how your dreams correspond to reality is up to you.

I would highly recommend this movie!

I enjoyed this film very much. The accents were real and not faked as in many Hallmark movies. I recognized many places they visited as sites we traveled to on our tours in Ireland. The scenery and music made me feel as if I was back there again. The story was sweet and fanciful without need to be realistic - it was like an Irish story being told where you don't know how much is real and how much is fantasy but it doesn't really matter in the end. All that matters is the love and connections made. I think the main characters had chemistry and were believable. I don't understand why the female lead carried an umbrella while the male lead did not since it didn't look like it was raining at the time that they were visiting each O'Brien in the area.

One annoyance was the friend/boss Michelle who acted wooden and unrealistically pushy.

Museum curator Lily (Aubrey Reynolds) has not dated since the death of her husband. Her boss is desperate to get her back out there. The whole work family gets involved when the museum gets a portrait that looks exactly like her. They have no artist name but they do have Ireland. Postal siblings William Murphy (Richard McWilliams) and Saoirse Murphy (Kathryn McKiernan) gives her the name J. O'Brien which is not that helpful. They know the truth, but is keeping it from her.

I like the gentleness of the journey. The Irish countryside helps a lot. I would like William to have more energy. I get that his subterfuge does leave him a bit hesitant. It doesn't explain after his reveal. She really shouldn't make it all the way back to America. If he doesn't stop her at the airport, he doesn't deserve her. That's the one thing I would change.

I thoroughly enjoyed this movie with it's quest to answer a question to which we already know the answer. The real point is when will Lily discover who the painter is and will William get up the courage to tell her the truth. How the painting travelled to Lily's museum in the U. S. is also a sweet story and Gerry Herbert as Jonathan O'Brien plays an important piece of the puzzle. I thought the acting was good and really enjoyed the interaction between Aubrey Reynolds as Lilly and Richard McWilliams as William. However, my favorite character was Saoirse played wonderfully by Kathryn McKiernan. While everyone else is searching for answers or true love, Saoirse is comfortable in her own skin and her lot in life. McKiernan plays this role with such joy and sincerity that it's hard not to fall in love with Saoirse and her small life, which is not small at all. Her dedication to the Post, her parents legacy, and the joy of her little village is very compelling and Kathryn McKiernan brings this character to life wonderfully. Unlike most Hallmark movies, this one was actually filmed in Ireland, not Canada which would have been a stretch. The scenery was beautiful and it was filmed beautifully as well. I truly loved this movie and it took me back to my visits to the Emerald Isle.