Others have given details of the play on which this film, 'Dancing at Lughnasa," is based. I too think that the movie has a stagy feel to it. That doesn't take away from the story – what there is of it; but it does speak to the lower technical quality of the film. The country shots do seem patched to the set scenes. I would like to have seen the stage play.
The acting is quite good all around. No role was exceptional, but all were very good. I've enjoyed reading the different comments of reviewers, especially where some see the family as ordinary while others see it as exceptional. My take is that this is an ordinary family in the sense of relationships, but a somewhat eccentric family in their circumstances. For instance, all of the girls are unmarried and living together. And, a much older brother priest returns from the missions to retire at home, but with dementia setting in and some sort of mixed bag of spirituality that we can't quite grasp or figure out. Did he have a reverse conversion? Did he become pagan instead of converting Africans to Christianity?
Whether in the movie, in the original play or in both, this point weakens the story. Unanswered questions like this distract the viewer. So, we miss the flow of the movie which centers around the five sisters. Another nagging distraction is a question of the parents. What happened to them? How long have then been dead? What about them – they are never mentioned that I can recall. Kate (Meryl Streep) seems to be no older than 40, with the youngest girl, Rose, mot much older than 20. But Father Jack is clearly well over 60. If they all had the same parents, their mother would have borne children for 40 years. Not impossible, but certainly exceptional. At one point, the narrator (Michael Mundy grown) makes a comment about this, but it's another piece that leaves viewers with a question – and another distraction.
Finally, this is a family of girls who are very close-knit. They are different individuals, and they have quarrels and disagreements. But we see nothing so deep that it would rend this family apart. They care deeply for one another. When they dance together spontaneously, they share a common moment of joy and fun. The story ends on a sad note, which is OK for a good movie or story. But, in this case, we don't know why Agnes and Rose just sneaked off together one night, never more to be seen or heard from. There was no apparent rift or irreparable rending of the family. The grown Michael expresses the surprise of all the rest of them. Two sisters just flee a family circle of siblings they have been so close with all their lives? It's another question that leaves the film wanting.
The acting is quite good all around. No role was exceptional, but all were very good. I've enjoyed reading the different comments of reviewers, especially where some see the family as ordinary while others see it as exceptional. My take is that this is an ordinary family in the sense of relationships, but a somewhat eccentric family in their circumstances. For instance, all of the girls are unmarried and living together. And, a much older brother priest returns from the missions to retire at home, but with dementia setting in and some sort of mixed bag of spirituality that we can't quite grasp or figure out. Did he have a reverse conversion? Did he become pagan instead of converting Africans to Christianity?
Whether in the movie, in the original play or in both, this point weakens the story. Unanswered questions like this distract the viewer. So, we miss the flow of the movie which centers around the five sisters. Another nagging distraction is a question of the parents. What happened to them? How long have then been dead? What about them – they are never mentioned that I can recall. Kate (Meryl Streep) seems to be no older than 40, with the youngest girl, Rose, mot much older than 20. But Father Jack is clearly well over 60. If they all had the same parents, their mother would have borne children for 40 years. Not impossible, but certainly exceptional. At one point, the narrator (Michael Mundy grown) makes a comment about this, but it's another piece that leaves viewers with a question – and another distraction.
Finally, this is a family of girls who are very close-knit. They are different individuals, and they have quarrels and disagreements. But we see nothing so deep that it would rend this family apart. They care deeply for one another. When they dance together spontaneously, they share a common moment of joy and fun. The story ends on a sad note, which is OK for a good movie or story. But, in this case, we don't know why Agnes and Rose just sneaked off together one night, never more to be seen or heard from. There was no apparent rift or irreparable rending of the family. The grown Michael expresses the surprise of all the rest of them. Two sisters just flee a family circle of siblings they have been so close with all their lives? It's another question that leaves the film wanting.