Main Cast: Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows, Alan Cumming
Release Year: 1995
Country: UK/IE/US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Set in 1957, this romantic coming-of-age story follows three childhood friends from a small town in Ireland as they head to Dublin to attend Trinity College. Nan (Saffron Burrows), a year older than her friends and already in her second year at Trinity, is ambitious, romantic, and just a bit reckless. She hopes to win the hand of Simon (Colin Firth), an older Protestant land-owner who would help her rise up the social and economic ladder. Eve (Geraldine O'Rawe), a bit more pragmatic and cautious, finds herself falling for a boy named Aidan (Aidan Gillen). Bernadette (Minnie Driver), called "Benny" by her friends and family, comes from strict parents who won't allow her to live on campus, forcing her to commute back and forth from classes every day. Bennie's father, a haberdasher, has always expected that his daughter, a bit plainer and plumper than her friends, will marry his shop's manager, an odd duck named Sean (Alan Cumming). But at Trinity, Bennie discovers that she fancies a tall, good-looking rugby player named Jack (Chris O'Donnell), and to the surprise of Bennie and everyone else, it turns out that Jack fancies her as well. Circle of Friends gave Minnie Driver her breakthrough film role after her initial success as a television actress in Britain. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
The epic romance that is made of this slight drama set in the Ireland of the 1950s results in a somewhat overblown film that is redeemed by the star-making performances of its lead actress and a pair of supporting players. Minnie Driver, who gained 30 pounds to play the role of Benny Hogan, shines in the role of a lifetime, where she is required to play exuberant, crushed, righteously indignant, naïve, determined, and heartbroken in the course of a script that gives new meaning to the term "character arc." Equally enthralling are then-unknowns Alan Cumming as duplicitous clerk Sean Walsh and Saffron Burrows as the desperate Nan, scheming to save her life and reputation by ruining a friend. Director Pat O'Connor's touch is less than delicate, often lacking a subtlety that would have been welcome, but his cast is nearly flawless. Only Chris O'Donnell strikes a wrong note in the role of a privileged Irish college student, his all-American party boy qualities never quite being submerged enough by his role or questionable accent. Despite these few notable shortcomings, Circle of Friends (1995) is not to be missed for its remarkable acting and early appearances from a trio of performers who would quickly go on to bigger and better films. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
Colin Firth - Simon Westward; Marie Conmee - Mrs Healey; Ingrid Craigie - Celia Westward; Pauline Delaney - Big House Maid; Tony Doyle - Dr. Foley; Seamus Ford - Parish Priest; Tom Hickey - Professor Maclure; Ciarán Hinds - Professor Flynn; John Kavanagh - Brian Mahon; Phil Kelly - Hiberian Waiter; Ruth McCabe - Emily Mahon; Sean McGinley - Mr Duggan; Marie Mullen - Mrs Foley; Britta Smith - Mrs Hogan; Gerry Walsh - Mr Flood; Mick Lally - Dan Hogan; Brendan Conroy - Priest; Jason Barry - Nasey Mahon; Aidan Gillen - Aidan
Credit
Chris Seagers - Art Director, Mary Selway - Casting, Simone Ireland - Casting, Kenith Trodd - Co-producer, Anushia Nieradzik - Costume Designer, Pat O'Connor - Director, John Jympson - Editor, Terence A. Clegg - Executive Producer, Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score), Michael Kamen - Songwriter, Jim Clay - Production Designer, Kenneth MacMillan - Cinematographer, Frank Price - Producer, Arlene Sellers - Producer, Alex Winitsky - Producer, Judy Farr - Set Designer, Andrew Davies - Screenwriter, Carol Bahoric - Executive in Charge of Production, Maeve Binchy - Book Author
Set in 1950s Ireland, the film focuses on the experiences of Bernadette "Benny" Hogan and her two friends, Eve Malone and Nan Mahon, as they enter university in Dublin. Benny eventually falls in love with Jack Foley. After her friend Nan gets pregnant by the rich Simon Westward, Simon breaks up with her and she is left alone. A desperate Nan runs into a drunk Jack at a bar and she lures him into having sex with her to force his hand into marrying her. Jack does what he believes is the honorable thing and asks Nan to marry him. He tells Benny about the baby and the engagement. After Eve finds out the truth, she confronts Nan at a party and her duplicity comes to light. Jack escorts Nan to the train station and she asks that he and Benny forgive her for her desperate actions. Nan heads to England to figure out what to do with her baby and her life. Jack goes to visit Benny and win her back. She finally relents and accepts his love and proposal of marriage.
