Circle of Friends
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Movie Reviews of Circle of Friends
Movie Review: I didn't read the book, but...
Summary: 3 Stars
...I wish I had, when I read through the other reviews and saw how many readers had been disappointed that a favorite book had been altered beyond their recognition. This may explain why parts of "Circle of Friends" didn't work for me.Bennie (Minnie Driver) is a somewhat overweight, self-concious girl who goes off to University of Dublin in the company of two of her best friends. There, she encounters what we in the States would call a dreamboat, Jack (Chris O'Donnell). No way they could ever be anything but "just friends", right? Well, maybe not. Time to feel a little like two Joan Fontaine heroines, Jane Eyre and the Second Mrs. de Winter, when that good-looking guy may well be yours after all. While all this is taking place rather slowly, another of the friends, Nan, is in the fast lane with her rich Protestant boyfriend, played by Colin Firth. She's decided to act what she believes is sophisticated, with drastic results, ultimately tragically involving the other couple, Bennie and Jack.
Evidently, one of the major characters from the book, Eve, got short shrift here in the movie. I for one couldn't understand why this apparently minor character popped up like a deus ex machina at the end, and was able to clear up the difficulty at hand. I guess that's because she's really supposed to have been on hand all through the story.
I did manage to enjoy "Circle of Friends", as a non-reader of the original book, though I would have to agree with some others that it was entirely because Minnie Driver was so engaging in the lead female role. It was the first time I ever saw her, and she made quite an impression on me. Were she not the star, this would have been somewhat forgettable.
Movie Review: Great casting; poor adaptation of top class book
Summary: 3 Stars
Like some of the other reviewers, I read Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy before seeing this movie. It is one of my all-time favorite books. I guess that does a disservice to the movie because if I had seen it first, I am sure I would have appreciated it much more.
The best thing about the movie was the casting of the main characters. Minnie Driver is beyond excellent as Benny. She is gorgeous, poignant in the role. Eve, who is such an important part of the book, is almost totally overlooked in the movie, along with her life growing up as an orphan in the convent.
There were just so many important pieces left out of the film, such as life in the village, Benny's parents, Nan's parents. And why change the whole ending of the book? To me that just made less of Benny and didn't show her true integrity.
My suggestion: read the book. It is written so descriptively and with such character development, you will be able to visualize it as you read anyway. If they were going to make this movie based on such a masterpiece, they should have lengthened it and really did a more true adaptation of Binchy's finest work.
This is not a terrible film. There are many good things about it - casting, scenery, fair story. But if given the choice and you want to do both, watch the movie and THEN read the book.
Movie Review: Good Movie but Desecration when you think of the BOOK
Summary: 3 Stars
For anyone that has read Circle of Friends...don't expect this movie to resemble the book..minnie driver does a good job as benny hogan - i think she captures the character and her spirit well...she is a joy to watch... but i didn't like how many of the characters were depicted...
benny's parents are shown as close-minded... kind of mean .. needlessly strict... in the book they're strict... but you still feel the love
and they ignored Eve... who had a lot of personality in the book...but had no role at all in movie...
I understand that a movie can't have all the parts of a book.. but at least the essence should stay the same...
this would be a good movie if I hadn't read the book
Movie Review: Radically changed from original novel
Summary: 2 Stars
Maeve Binchy's novel is not a classic, but has some charm and a definite sense of a particular time and place (small Irish village in the 50s) and a nicely drawn protagonist. It's a shame that this film completely butchers the theme of the book in order to pander to what the filmmakers must assume are American simpletons who have to have a happy romantic ending.
SPOILER ALERT
Well, just barely but you should know before seeing this that in the novel, Benny Hogan and Jack Foley BREAK UP at the end and do not get back together nor do they ever have sex. This is a far more realistic and satisfying ending, as Benny realizes that Jack is shallow and unworthy of her love and that she is now a mature, self-actualized adult who can move on. The movie wallows in a very unbelievable scenario where "all is forgiven", because of course the sweet heroine MUST get the handsome hunk. Thus the entire point of the book is utterly lost.
Along with that, so is virtually half the contents of the novel, including the story of Eve and the various colorful residents of Knockglen. This is a rather huge problem, since the book is about a "Circle of Friends" and if you make the story entirely about ONE of the friends, then that concept is rendered meaningless. Basically, what remains is the story of one nice girl (Benny) and one bitchy girl (Nan, played by the lovely Saffron Burrows).
That being said, Minnie Driver is adorable and brimming with charm as Benny, although Benny is supposed to be overweight and plain and Ms. Driver is merely "very attractive in a down-to-earth way". She commands the screen entirely with her appealing and realistic performance. Too bad the costume designers and hair stylists couldn't have found some 50s clothing and hairstyles for her -- no girl in the 50s would have been caught dead with "big hair".
On the other hand, Chris O'Donnell feels awkward as miscast as Jack. He looks too young for Benny (of course, all the cast is pretty much too old to be playing 18 yr old college freshman), and he doesn't convey the shallow side of Jack's character...of course, that could be the director or screenwriter forcing it to the back, since in the film Jack is Benny's true love and they end up together!
Look for Alan Cummings, Colin Firth (as well as the aforementioned Saffron Burrows) in supporting roles...all these fine actors have gone on to do much substantial work in the last decade. But this is really Minnie Driver's show -- she made her Hollywood career with this delightful portrayal and it's worth sitting through the muddled script to enjoy two hours with her. I think this remains her finest film role. The two stars are entirely for her; otherwise this film would rate a big zero.
Movie Review: Read the novel already? Then skip the film...
Summary: 2 Stars
Maeve Binchy's "Circle of Friends" was the first -- and only -- novel I've read cover-to-cover in one day, and then immediately read it again the next day. All 600 pages of it. I fell in love with the characters and the secrets surrounding them, the intricate goings-on of life in a small Irish village. I was so sad when the book ended because it meant I'd never find out what would become of Benny, Eve, Nan and Jack in the future. It is one of my favorite all-time novels, and I recommend it to everyone. So you can imagine my excitement when, about a year after reading the novel, "Circle of Friends" was made into a movie. I couldn't wait to see it.
To my horror, the very first scene ruined the entire film for me. Why? Because it showed three little girls -- who we soon learn are Benny, Eve and Nan -- skipping through the woods in their childhood home of Knockglen, Ireland.
To those of you who have never read the novel, this will mean nothing to you. You're thinking, "So what? What's the big deal about that scene?"
But those of you who have read the novel, and probably loved it as much as I did, will understand my disappointment. That's because, in the novel, Benny and Eve grew up in Knockglen together but didn't meet Nan until they went to college in Dublin. Nan never lived in Knockglen, ever. She had no history there, no one in Knockglen knew anything about Nan until Benny and Eve brought her there for a visit.
So this seemingly innocent first scene of the film absolutely changes the entire story. While the film parallels the novel in many ways, there is no way it could do the novel justice by so blatantly changing the course of history in these characters' lives. I remember spending the rest of the time watching the film with the knowledge that it would never live up to my expectations, having had the benefit of reading the beautifully-written novel beforehand.
There are very few films which are successfully adapted from novels. This adaptation DEFINITELY did not succeed, at least from the viewpoint of someone who has read the novel. If you've never read the novel, you will probably enjoy the film. But if you HAVE read the novel, don't waste your time -- you'll be sadly disappointed.