The location and the performances of the lead characters are the main driving forces of this movie and offers a more refreshing and realistic approach to love and the choices that people have to make.
This is not your average Hollywood romcom. There is no com and the rom is much more serious. The heroine isn't a debonair twenty something self assured world conquering go getter. Here she's a naive young nun to be who's led a somewhat sheltered life in an Irish village off the coastline and she faces turmoil when a stranger from Newfoundland enters her life and turns it upside down.
I really liked the rustic village setting off the coastline with the close minded and close knit community. Even the gloomy weather and the dark clouds reflects the mood of our couple. The stormy weather mirrors the turmoil that Michael and Cathleen are feeling under their skin, and also the animosity of the locals towards their friendship and seemingly budding romance.
Sarah Green as Cathleen is wonderful- she does an excellent job of portraying a naive unassuming girl who's caught in two minds when Michael shows an increasing interest in her. She finds herself at junction with two paths, both of which have grave consequences, no matter what her choice. She was a natural and made the movie as much as it made her. Allan Hawco was good as well, though I found his character to be a bit too one dimensional and too bull headed, and too selfish. He'd be the kind of guy who do whatever he wanted as long it felt right and natural to him and wouldn't care for anyone's opinion or feelings. I felt that Michael does go too far in his quest to have Cathleen that after a while I didn't really feel like rooting for him.
Overall, I like the movie, and it's pacing. It's slow so you really have to sit still and concentrate. The ending is as it should be and nothing more, not like the billion endings that Return of the King (of Lord of the Rings infamy) had.
If you want a realistic love story without any melodrama this is for you. Everyone else can go watch Pretty Woman or Notting Hill and go "aaahh" at the end and feel good about themselves.
