University of Virginia Library

CINEMA

Passion And Hard Times In Ireland

By PAUL CHAPLIN

If David Lean had released
"Ryan's Daughter" in 1967 instead
of last year, he and MGM would
most likely have had a critical and
financial success. The film is
perhaps too typical of a lean film,
so much so that various elements of
the film border on self-parody. In
the tradition of "Doctor Zhivago,"
this film's action concerns passion
and love set against the troubled
year of 1918 in Ireland.

Young Rosy Ryan marries
Charles, the town school teacher, a
man much older than herself.
Although he loves his wife, Rosy
feels something is missing, and she
discovers the "something" is a
young British soldier. This plot is
exactly like the dilemma Yuri
Zhivago was in, which is not
surprising, in as much as Robert
Bolt was responsible for both
screenplays, as well as "Lawrence
of Arabia."

Bolt's script is one reason why
the film seems nicely familiar. The
soldier, who spends a great deal of
time gazing into space (and is
suffering from shell-shock) is the
"Peter O'Toole role," patterned
after his role in "Lawrence," just as
the village priest has much in
common with the "Rod Steiger
role" in "Zhivago." Rosy is
alternately Laura and Tonya, while
Charles is the only character whom
I cannot find in a previous film.
With these familiar characters and
plot, I had hoped Bolt's language
would perhaps be vivid and
exciting, but was disappointed with
the trite dialogue.

Grotesque Idiot

By far the most interesting
character in the film is Michael the
idiot, brilliantly interpreted by John
Mills. In what could have been a
grotesque stock figure, Mills has
created a genuine "character" and
not a freak for the visual shock
value. Christopher Jones' soldier is
the exact opposite, with the young
actor giving a performance which is
frequently ridiculous.

Trevor Howard handles the role
of the priest satisfactorily. Sarah
Miles left me unimpressed, which is
hardly the feeling the main
character should give one. It's hard
to work-up any sympathy for her.
Robert Mitchum is miscast only in
the sense that he's not British, but
his performance is quite sensitive
and surprisingly good.

Portraying Nature

"Ryan's Daughter" is a good
film, just as its three predecessors
were; there was nothing daring
about them, they were entertaining
and they had just enough pretty
camera work to be considered
"arty." I could say, "If you liked
the desert in "Lawrence" and the
snows in "Zhivago," you'll love the
sea in "Ryan's Daughter," which
would be perfectly true.

Mitchum, Miles: Imposed Vastness

No other director can handle
Mother Nature as well as Lean can.
You can predict when the shots of
the landscape will come, and when
the music (little bits of Beethoven's
"Erotica") will come in, because the
whole film has the same sure about
it that now characterizes a Lean
film, specifically abundant
production. The plot doesn't
demand the vastness which Lean
has given it. "Ryan's Daughter" is a
simple way to spend three hours of
your life, but for fifty cents you
could get a simple gist of the story
and the Lean style from Mad
magazine.

(Now at the Paramount)