Circle of Friends

Director: Pat O'Connor Pat O'Connor

Overview

Set in 1957, this romantic coming-of-age story follows three childhood friends from a small town in Ireland as they head to Dublin to attend Trinity College. Nan (Saffron Burrows), a year older than her friends and already in her second year at Trinity, is ambitious, romantic, and just a bit reckless. She hopes to win the hand of Simon (Colin Firth), an older Protestant land-owner who would help her rise up the social and economic ladder. Eve (Geraldine O'Rawe), a bit more pragmatic and cautious, finds herself falling for a boy named Aidan (Aidan Gillen). Bernadette (Minnie Driver), called "Benny" by her friends and family, comes from strict parents who won't allow her to live on campus, forcing her to commute back and forth from classes every day. Bennie's father, a haberdasher, has always expected that his daughter, a bit plainer and plumper than her friends, will marry his shop's manager, an odd duck named Sean (Alan Cumming). But at Trinity, Bennie discovers that she fancies a tall, good-looking rugby player named Jack (Chris O'Donnell), and to the surprise of Bennie and everyone else, it turns out that Jack fancies her as well. Circle of Friends gave Minnie Driver her breakthrough film role after her initial success as a television actress in Britain.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/02/2021
UPC:	0191329159477
Original Release:	1995
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Universal
Language:	English
Time:	1:43:00
Sales rank:	2,506

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Chris O'Donnell	Jack
Minnie Driver	Benny
Geraldine O'Rawe	Eve
Saffron Burrows	Nan
Alan Cumming	Sean
Colin Firth	Simon Westward
Aidan Gillen	Aidan
Mick Lally	Dan Hogan
Seamus Forde	Parish Priest
Tony Boyle	Dr. Foley
Tom Hickey	Prof. Maclure
Britta Smith	Mrs. Hogan
John Kavanagh	Brian Mahon
Ingrid Craigle	Celia Westward
Ruth McCabe	Emily Mahon
Tony Doyle	Dr. Foley
Marie Mullen	Mrs. Foley
Marie Conmee	Mrs. Healy
Gerry Walsh	Mr. Flood
Sean McGinley	Mr. Duggan
Major Lambert	Major Westward
Pauline Delany	Big House Maid
Jason Barry	Nasey Mahon
Edward Manning	Paul Mahon
Phil Kelly	Hibernian Waiter
Gwynne McElveen	Rosemary
Marguerite Drea	Sheila
Stephen Rooney	Bill Dunne
Cathy Belton	Moaning Girl
Elizabeth Keller	Sobbing Girl
Tanya Cawley	Rugby Girl
Niamh O'Byrne	Dancing Girl
Dervla O'Farrell	Benny (age 10)
Pamela Cardillo	Nan (age 10)
Louise Maher	Eve (age 10)
Karen O'Neill	1st Little Girl,1st Nun
Elaine Dunphy	2nd Little Girl
Emma Lannon	3rd Little Girl
Maureen Lyster	2nd Nun
Eliza Dear	3rd Nun
Brendan Conroy	Priest
Ciarán Hinds	Professor Flynn
Ingrid Craigie	Celia Westward
Seamus Ford	Parish Priest
Pauline Delaney	Big House Maid
Michael Kamen	Composer

Technical Credits

Maeve Binchy

Andrew Davies

Pat O'Connor	Director
Terence Clegg	Executive Producer
Martin Grace	Stunts
Simone Ireland	Casting
Frank Price	Producer
Arlene Sellers	Producer
Mary Selway	Casting
Rod Stoneman	Executive Producer
Alex Winitsky	Producer
Maeve Binchy	Screenwriter
Andrew Davies	Screenwriter
Kenith Trodd	Producer
Deborah Gordon	Sound Effects
Gerry Humphreys	Sound Effects

Editorial Reviews

The epic romance that is made of this slight drama set in the Ireland of the 1950s results in a somewhat overblown film that is redeemed by the star-making performances of its lead actress and a pair of supporting players. Minnie Driver, who gained 30 pounds to play the role of Benny Hogan, shines in the role of a lifetime, where she is required to play exuberant, crushed, righteously indignant, naïve, determined, and heartbroken in the course of a script that gives new meaning to the term "character arc." Equally enthralling are then-unknowns Alan Cumming as duplicitous clerk Sean Walsh and Saffron Burrows as the desperate Nan, scheming to save her life and reputation by ruining a friend. Director Pat O'Connor's touch is less than delicate, often lacking a subtlety that would have been welcome, but his cast is nearly flawless. Only Chris O'Donnell strikes a wrong note in the role of a privileged Irish college student, his all-American party boy qualities never quite being submerged enough by his role or questionable accent. Despite these few notable shortcomings, Circle of Friends (1995) is not to be missed for its remarkable acting and early appearances from a trio of performers who would quickly go on to bigger and better films.

All Movie Guide - Karl Williams