All’s not fair in love and war

Falling squarely into the not-very-good-but-I-liked-it-anyway category comes The Secret Scripture (Rialto), a wartime soap of the doomed-love-triangle/tragic-heroine kind that makes up for all its dour and cliched nonsense with some sterling performances, stellar cinematography, and strong direction from the great Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father).

 

THE SECRET SCRIPTURE

Director: Jim Sheridan
Cast: Rooney Mara, Vanessa Redgrave, Jack Reynor, Theo James, Eric Bana, Susan Lynch, Aidan Turner
Rating: (M)
★★★+ (out of five)

 

Unfortunately, this pared-down adaptation of Sebastian Barry’s 2008 Booker Prize finalist is unlikely to garner similar accolades for its screenplay.

Beginning in an unspecified present day, we meet Rose McNulty (Vanessa Redgrave), a patient for more than four decades in an Irish mental institution. Committed during World War 2 with an initial diagnosis of nymphomania, she has remained hospitalised ever since falling pregnant and murdering her newborn baby, an act she has always  denied.

Dr William Grene (Eric Bana) is the psychiatrist tasked with determining whether she could  now be released. They start conversing and, cue flashback, we’re  in 1942 Ireland where the young Rose (Rooney Mara) finds herself juggling the affections of both a handsome fighter pilot (Jack Reynor) and a fawning local priest (Theo James).

Knowing where the story is headed takes away much of the sting, and the contrived twist conclusion is groanworthy, but even though I’d be hard-pressed to recommend this, I can honestly say I was never bored. A guilty pleasure ... to be sure, to be sure. 

- Jeremy Quinn