Circle of Friends

In fifties Ireland three friends come from a country town to university in Dublin. Benny is clever, large and tied to her father's shop; her family wants her married to a man they know. When she starts seeing Jack, who plays rugby, the town's moral supervision kicks in. Pat O'Connor directed, from Maeve Binchy's novel. Minnie Driver plays Benny, Chris O'Donnell plays Jack, with Geraldine O'Rawe and Saffron Burrows as her friends and Colin Firth in the cast. This was Driver's first major film. That she gained weight for the role, and how the industry talked about it afterwards, sits oddly close to the film's own subject. It was shot in Ireland, and provincial life, church pressure and the narrowness of the options open to women are not background but plot. It found unexpected success in America and lifted interest in Irish literary adaptations. Who it is for: viewers who like period drama and stories of female friendship. Who it is not for: anyone wanting sharp critique; the film settles somewhere conciliatory.