Rating: 
Summary: Don't Bother
Review: A horrible movie which makes Dull & ordinary (with the exception of sex) one of the most complex writers/individuals that Ireland has produced. If cinematography alone is your sole requisite in a film by all means buy the DVD. One good aspect of the movie; Ewan & Susan Lynch's rendition of 'The Lass of Aughrim'...but you can download that.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be afraid of James Joyce
Review: A MUST FOR MCGREGOR FANS !!!!!
Based on Branda Maddox' biography of Nora Joyce it's
one of the finest movies I've ever seen.
Rating:
Summary: ewan mcgregor's hot
Review: although ewan mcgregor is my ultimate favorite actor in the entire world..i have to say that this was a terrible movie. and yes..sadly, ewan co-produced it! So back to the movie..I hated Susan Lynch in this film. has she ever heard of shaving? I know this is back in the day so I'll give her that much. But she was a little TOO hairy for me. This movie is really graphic and it shows a lot of uh..stuff. Ewan was so cute in it! But I think there could have been a better Nora picked. This is definitlely an erotic film like the actual overview says. the reason why i gave this film only 1 star is because it was so hard to follow! i figured out in the middle that time was jumping VERY fast. they should have dates as subtitles. It jumped ahead quickly, it was too graphic, and overall..it's probably one of the worst films i have ever seen. sorry ewan!!!
Rating:
Summary: Amazing Movie
Review: Amazing movie. I had to watch it 3 times to completely understand the characters and depth of their relationship. We are not all the same are we? Superb performances by Ewan McGregor and Susan Lynch...amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Beautifully done
Review: As I watched Nora, a lot of things went through my head. The stellar performance given by Susan Lynch, the quiet power of Ewan McGregor, the strength of the script, as well as the maturity this movie as a whole showed. I noticed that there was virtually no lead-in to the relationship between Nora and James Joyce, a total of 3 minutes to introduce Nora, and perhaps 20 seconds to introduce Mr. Joyce. At first, I was slightly put off at this, feeling as though I had been cheated out of a good, 15 minutes...but as the story progressed, I realized that a longer introduction would have been meaningless, and in the end, a waste of the moviegoers time. The great thing about this movie, is that it is about the relationship between James and Nora, not about their families, not about their jobs, not about their children (although all of these things play an important role within their lives, therefore impact how they act towards one another), but solely about *them*.Ewan McGregor is shocking in his portrayl, not only because of his stunning work as a whole, but his honesty in the role. He appears to be baring his soul in this movie, while still keeping a subtle demeanor. Susan Lynch was equally wonderful, but in a totally different way. Her performance was quick and full of life, as opposed to McGregor's dead-but-powerful approach. It was almost as though the role was a shell around the actress, and she became a totally new person, wholly leaving her personal self behind, forgetting any method of acting she may have had, any sense of mechanical acting in her is gone, and she allowed herself to just be this character. A lovely portrayl of one of the most passionate and stormy literary relationships in history, I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: gorgeous, interesting film
Review: Beautifully filmed, this movie brought to mind "Henry and June," another story about writers and their "muses." This film also did not shy away from sexual content, which simply added fuel to the fire. However, it seemed a bit disjointed in places (very much an arthouse film), and I wondered what might have ended up on the cutting room floor. The main gist of the story did shine through: the story of James Joyce and the woman who inspired and loved him, Nora Barnacle. Great acting by all the actors and lush cinematography. But it made me wonder about James Joyce and Nora, and what was their true story?
Rating:
Summary: Nora stands on its own
Review: Believe the title of the film, this movie is about Nora, her motivations and her love for Joyce, despite his sometimes baffling and erratic behavior. Ewan McGregor is excellent as always, delivering an understated performance and giving his co-star the chance to shine. Not that she exactly needs it, Susan Lynch, as Nora, is electrifying. From the moment the two meet on a city street, we can see the two characters drawn to each other, at times, quite against their will.
Joyce's jealousy and obsessiveness is the underlying theme to this film. It brings them together as much as it pushes them apart as he imagines Nora either cheating on him, or her previous sexual life with her first love. But, throughout it all, despite his wild imaginings, the love the two feel for each other is palpable.This is a couple who, married or not, was one of the greatest love triumphs of literary history.
Nora can be watched just as a love story, but may, hopefully, fuel the desire to read Joyce's works. To see for oneself the fruits of his devotion toward Nora, his muse and wife.
Rating:
Summary: A torrent of emotion, wonderfully presented
Review: How one views this film will depend in part on how much of a Joyce devotee the viewer is. As is the case with any film based on the life of a larger-than-life figure, the film will be largely viewed by those who have an avid interest in James Joyce. These viewers will judge the film with a much more discerning eye. The fact that Joyce's work does not have mass appeal and is devoured by a small but fervent group of literary intellectuals makes the scrutiny that much more intense. For this audience, the film will have numerous unbearable flaws and inaccuracies. However, for the audience of non aficionados, this film has a great deal to recommend itself, providing that the viewer loves good drama and has the patience to endure its methodical pacing. The story is a powerful love story with shearing forces that bring emotional torrent to the relationship. In it we find the high minded writer, James Joyce, obsessed with Nora, the coarse and illiterate chamber maid whose practical wisdom and unfettered sexuality provide the ideal compliment and the perfect wedge. These two are helpless moths being consumed by a bonfire of ardor built on differences that are as irreconcilable as they are essential to each of their souls. Given this premise, we have the underpinnings of great theater. Despite the disappointment of many Joyce fans regarding this treatment, the film is really not about James Joyce, it is about the relationship. Thankfully, director Pat Murphy didn't lose sight of that fact and succumb to the temptation to mollify Joyce fans by making this a Joyce-centric film. Murphy patiently peels away the layers of each character and casts each revelation on the relationship like kerosene on a house fire. The deeper we get into the characters, the more complex and hopeless the relationship becomes, and paradoxically, the more inextricably entwined its participants. Murphy's direction is excellent on all fronts. The cinematography is incredible with awe inspiring locations and a wonderfully rich sepia quality that enhances the period renderings. The look and feel the period is well done. The early 20th century costumes, furniture, sets and props are precise and breathe life and realism into each scene. The acting is superb. Ewan McGregor practically rips himself to shreds playing the mercurial Joyce, jovial and charming one minute, paranoid, brooding and insanely jealous the next. However, poor Ewan once again has a terrific performance upstaged by his co-star Susan Lynch (See Nicole Kidman and "Moulin Rouge!"). Despite lacking the classic features of a leading lady, Lynch's physiognomy is a perfect match for the earthy Nora. Lynch can flat out act. This lady has a five octave emotional range with the force of Caribbean hurricane. If there weren't a single other reason to see this film, her performance would be enough. I am glad that I happened on to this film buried in the stacks at the video store. I rated it a 9/10. It isn't for everyone, but for those who can appreciate a fatalistic love story with steamy sexual content, constant emotional tension, great acting and insightful directing; this will be a disturbing, but worthwhile experience.
Rating: 
Summary: Somewhat confusing and disjointed but I got through it!
Review: I knew nothing about James Joyce and Nora Barnacle before I saw this movie.It did pique my interest to know more of Joyce's works, but the movie was not an easy ride.I frequently got confused trying to understand and identify with their somewhat obsessive-compulsive and stormy relationship.Not much was explained about his novels so one does not garner too much in that department.Also, the sound quality was poor on my VHS copy.I did enjoy, though, the fine acting of Mac Gregor and Lynch.Definately worth a go!
Rating:
Summary: THE BARNACULAR JOYCE
Review: I too at first wished to hear more of Joyce's famous comments and phrases ("Ireland, the old sow that eats her farrow"). When he writes "The Dead" I'd hoped to hear the glorious final paragraph about flakes falling into the mutinous Shannon. And so on. But this was a filming of Brenda Maddox's book, not a gathering of Joyce writings. The point of "The Dead" in the film is to light up Joyce's compulsive jealousy of "Gabriel", Nora's first lover, not show how that lover later splintered into Blazes Boylan. The Joyce here begins as the callow Stephen Dedalus figure, then matures into a much weightier character with a genius for honesty who must never avoid the worst in human nature and, indeed, must hold it dear as a source of inspiration--even if he finds it in his wife. Dublin has bleached him white and he must write the gray prose of "Dubliners" to match his feelings, and then the photographically gray prose of "Ulysses". Earlier films had already dramatized Joyce's prose, Joseph Strick's "Ulysses" and John Huston's "The Dead"--so why repeat what had already been done? Furthermore, when Joyce complains that Nora never reads his stories, she cries back, Why should I when I see how you twist my life in them? So Joyce's prose is not part of Nora's mind, not even the lovely end of "The Dead"--so it would be out of place in Nora's universe in this film, as would her reactions to any sublime prose moment. We don't want to see Nora saying what a wonderful writer Jimmy is--although in later life she did enjoy the world's opinion of her husband. I found Ewan McGregor fighting against body type in trying to capture the slender figure of Joyce but that at times he did catch the Joyce silhouette balanced on his cane. McGregor's lighting was splendid, with artful shadows at times molding Joyce's features and even reaching into his head to see Joyce's cold gray torment. Since the film ends before "Dubliners" is even published--or rather with the type being smashed by the printers--there can be no reason for working some of Joyce's later writing or glories into the the script. The focus is on Nora, and Susan Lynch, also working against body type in trying to figure forth a robust Nora, does wonderfully. She may never again have as great a role to play. The film successfully plays Nora's burly richness of feeling against Joyce's complexity and writerly distraction snd I for one loved it. Let me add that as I watched it, alas on tape, I kept thinking "Here is a film that will never earn back its costs--except emotionally for what Stendahl calls 'the happy few.'" As movies go, this is a treasure and I plan to see it again on DVD. Rosettes to Ewan McGregor, who produced as well as starred, and to Susan Lynch for her unwavering flow of feeling that lapped at my heart like a cow's tongue.
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