Circle of Friends

Rating:
Summary: Don't read the book before you see the movie
Review: I read the novel by "Maeve Binchy" back 6 years ago, and I can still remember how the plot was, and how beautiful everything seems to be. Unlike reading it, when I watched the movie, it was so disappointing. Minnie Driver could've done better than THAT! O'Donnell was great, but the plotting in the movie was very flat and you just felt like falling into sleep. Then again, the book is always better than the movie. One thing that I like most from the movie, though, was because they changed the ending. I felt after what everything Benny had been through, she deserves happiness, especially when Jack apologized.

Rating:
Summary: An interesting movie
Review: Circle of Friends was a movie that was somewhat raunchy, but really enjoyable mostly. Minnie Driver's first movie, and Chris O'Donnell was great. An unpredictable movie with unexpected interesting twists.

Rating:
Summary: A Simple Tale Told Extremely Well
Review: Unfortunately for Circle of Friends the American "name", Chris O'Donnell, has about as much screen presence as a wet blanket. Fortuntely it also has Minnie Driver who simply devours every scene. It is a simple enough story based on Maeve Binchy's novel: Girl leaves town. Boy meets Girl. Girl falls in love with Boy despite his ordinary Irish accent. Audience hopes Girl gets star billing. Conflict and resolution. If it wasn't for Minnie Driver, Circle of Friends would view like a Mills "n" Boon novel.

Rating:
Summary: A touching tale of innocence lost and found.
Review: In this movie, we meet people who have nothing in common that still manage to become the best of friends. The love story between Jack and Bennie makes people like me realize that there is hope. He messed up, but he confesses and does things right. This movie has a happy ending that is just sweet enough to make us all remember when we had our own circle of friends.

Rating:
Summary: For any one who did not get they guy or the girl. . .
Review: in high school, college or life- take heart!! Benny is not the most beautiful girl from Knockglen but she is the one that ends up with handsome Jack Foley. Chris O'Donnell plays Jack the big man on campus that every girl wants. Minnie Driver plays a genuinely sweet girl who never really wanted anything out of life except for Jack. Despite the selfish machinations of Nan, Benny strikes a blow for all the sweet girls who wanted the handsome seemingly unattainable guy.

Rating:
Summary: Touching love story- a classic
Review: This movie was so wonderful I've watched it at least a hundred times! Minnie Driver and Chris O'Donell shine together and both perform beautifully. It reminds us how valuable friendship is and how love should always be based on friendship. Circle of Friends is such a classic, which is hard to find now adays, and I recomend it to everyone who likes a movie about friends and love. If you loved this movie as much as I did I recomend reading the book. It's just as good and allows you to go deeper into the story and town of Knockglen. Other stories my Maeve Binchy are also great reads.Don't let this movie go unnoticed, and share it with your circle of friends!

Rating:
Summary: Great characters
Review: I think I loved the book so much that I enjoyed the movie just because it let me think about Binchy's characters in different situations.

Yes, the book is completely different from the Pat O'Connor film (esp the ending and the Coldagh/Fonsie storyline...which were two of the best things about the book for me) -- but it can still be enjoyed on its own. What made me want to own the movie was the scene between Eve and Nan in Eve's cottage kitchen. I loved Eve's monologue, and it still gives me chills. The casting for Eve, Nan, Sean and Benny was perfect.

The DVD itself does not offer much by way of extras. I was hoping to see some deleted scenes, but the only bonus features available were the trailer (which made the movie seem much more dynamic and interesting than it actually was) some promotional spots, and a mini "featurette". I must say I was really disappointed by the lack of deleted scenes or director's commentary.


Rating:
Summary: Read the novel already? Then skip the film...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Circle of Friends
Review: I loved the book. But the movie deviated so far from the plot line that it was quite a disappointment. If you enjoy finding redemption and reconciliation in movies, this one isn't for you.

Rating:
Summary: Love this Irish gem
Review: Set in 1950's rural Ireland, this movie follows Benny as she goes to University with her friend Eve. There they met up with an old friend Nan, a girl who is beautiful and looking for a rich husband.

Benny falls in love with Jack, who is also at the Uni and plays on the Rugby team. Eve falls for Aiden, one of Jack's friends and Nan is after the rich Simon. But when Nan finds out she is pregnant and Simon pays her to 'get rid of it' she decides to get Jack drunk so they she can tell him that the child is his. When Benny finds out she is heartbroken. It is Eve who finally works out the truth and Jack come back to see Benny whose father has died and she is working in the family store.

A beautiful film with stunning performances from Minnie Driver as Benny, Chris O'Donnell as Jack and Colin Firth as Simon and not to forget Alan Cummings playing the sleazy Sean.

The movie is not faithful to the book, but I would say personally I thought it was much better. This is a film for all those romantic at heart people. Lovely to watch with some chocolate and don't forget the tissues.