A woman named Marilyn Vine (portrayed by Andie MacDowell) lives a fairly happy life in New England, with a nice husband and a fifteen-year-old son, whom she loves very much. Then, her life falls apart, as her son, Dale, dies in a stupid accident at his birthday party. Marilyn's husband had given Dale the motorcycle on which he died, as a birthday present, against Marilyn's advice. As one might expect, Dale's death puts the marriage in great jeopardy.

Meanwhile, Ria Lynch (Olivia Williams) has a very happy life in Dublin, Ireland, until her husband suddenly confesses to having an ongoing affair, resulting in his mistress being pregnant. Thus, we start with two marriages on the rocks, and two women whose dreams for the future have been shattered.

Marilyn's husband had once had business dealings with Ria's husband, who is land management. Marilyn calls Ria's husband but, forgetting the time difference, she awakens Ria in the middle of the night. Why did Marilyn call? She wants to get away from it all, and she tells this to Ria. The two women come to an interesting solution, that will have far-reaching ramifications for both of them: they decide to swap homes for two months.

Will either of them find what they seek? Will they heal? Will they fit in with the somewhat foreign culture into which each is jumping? I will not answer those questions, but I will divulge that the tage-line for this 2005 Irish film is, "Sometimes you must lose your life to find a new one."

This is not my typical film-choice, as I usually go for science-fiction, comedy, fantasy, or adventure films. I am therefore surprised by how much I did like the film. The scenery was beautiful, with the film having been shot in Capetown, South Africa and in Dublin Ireland (that's right, no Connecticut filming, from I have found). The heart of this film is the acting of the two main characters, and both Olivia Williams and Andie MacDowell do justice to their parts. The supporting cast also does its part, with Iain Glen (Ria's husband, Danny) portraying a very likeable cad, whose charm and duplicitousness are equally undeniable.

The weak spot in the film, for me, was its unrealistic penultimate scene, featuring a showdown between the good guys (Ria, Marilyn, Marilyn's husband, and Danny's boss's wife almost miraculously resolving a major problem created by the "bad guys" (Danny, his boss, his mistress, and two surprise villainesses).

This movie is a bit of an oddity in that the tear-jerker part, which definitely exists, is more in the beginning, instead of at the end. The movie is really a character study, and an exploration of novel ways people can work through grief and loss.

This DVD has only one bonus feature, besides some trailers, and that is an interview with the author of the book upon which the movie is based, Maeve Binchy. To me, this interview was not very useful, as Ms. Binchy gives us a plot synopsis and an idea of what inspired the tale, but she speaks so rapidly and inflectionlessly that I barely understood most of what she said. I would suggest not viewing this feature before watching the film, as Ms. Binchy gives up some spoilers, if you can understand her.

This review is now part of Captain D's Good Movie Write-Off.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 9 - 12