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''Circle of Friends'' is a 1995 film directed by Irish filmmaker Pat O'Connor, and based on the 1990 novel of the same name written by
Maeve Binchy Anne Maeve Binchy Snell (28 May 1939Born 1939 as per biography, ''Maeve Binchy'' by Piers Dudgeon, Thomas Dunne Books 2013; (hardcover), pp. 4, 280, 302; (ebook) – 30 July 2012) was an Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer, colum ...
. The movie was well received by critics and was a box office success.


Plot

Set in 1950s Ireland, the film relates the experiences of Bernadette "Benny" Hogan and her friends: Eve Malone and Nan Mahon. They are characterised during their First Communion: Benny is the beloved and well-fed only child of a tailor with a shop, Eve is the orphan reared by nuns and Nan is destined to be defined by her beauty. They grow up in the small town of Knockglen. Eight years later, Nan has moved to Dublin, and Benny and Eve have graduated from convent school and are heading to Dublin and university. Eve's education is financed by the local landowning Westward Protestant family, who employed her father before his death. She has also been granted one of their estate cottages. She boards at a Dublin convent, while Benny commutes between home and Dublin, her parents being loath to lose her. They wish her to marry the creepy Sean Walsh, her father's employee, to secure the business's future. In Dublin, the two girls reconnect with a mature, sophisticated Nan who is aware of her beauty. Benny falls for Jack Foley, a handsome rugby player and doctor's son studying medicine, though he is not convinced of this career. After the College Ball, they begin a relationship, Eve dates Aidan, a friend of Jack's, and Nan becomes involved with the older Simon Westward, heir to the estate. While Benny resists sex with Jack, Nan does not with Simon, believing he truly loves her. When Benny's father dies, she suspends studies to care for her devastated mother and run the family shop. Sean attempts to woo her. Benny notices funds are missing and suspects Sean is involved but lacks proof. Eve's cottage serves as a party location for the women. Nan and Simon visit it secretly. Nan becomes pregnant and tells Simon, sure he will marry her but Simon says he must marry for money to maintain the family estate. He offers her money for an abortion in England. A desperate Nan seeks Aidan, but runs into Jack, who has not seen Benny since her father's funeral. She convinces him to take her to a party and lures him into sex, later pretending that he got her pregnant. Jack is honourable and offers marriage. He tells Benny and she is devastated. Eve suspects someone is using the cottage after finding a half-burned newspaper. The convent nuns have told her they have seen lights and chimney smoke. Nan have suggested the cottage was haunted to conceal her secret meetings. Eve throws another party, which a still devastated Benny attends. Nan, oblivious to the pain she has caused, convinces Jack they should attend, though he feels uneasy about it. Nan seeks out Eve, bringing her presents. An enraged Eve, having guessed Simon fathered Nan's baby, threatens to tell Jack the truth and comes towards Nan waving a bread knife. Nan falls into a glass door, severing an artery and so bleeding profusely. Jack comes to her aid. Benny, seeing them attending to Nan, leaves. Jack tries to contact Benny but she refuses to answer. Though learning of Nan's deception, he escorts her to the harbour despite her protests that he has no responsibility. She asks for forgiveness and heads to England for her delivery (or an illegal abortion). Curiosity over the fraud leads Benny to search Sean's living area. She finds pornographic pictures of fat women. Sean finds her there and attempts to sexually assault her. She fights him off, then finds the money he has embezzled. She demands he leave or she will call the Guards. After Jack sees Nan off, he tries to win Benny back. He explains that aiding Nan made his hesitations over medicine disappear and that he loves her and never loved Nan. Benny tells him his actions have changed her and their relationship and they must take their time. In a voiceover, Benny says Jack addressed his studies and pursued her, while she moved to Dublin to share a flat with Eve. A paper Benny writes causes a stir and points towards her career as a writer. In time, she falls in love with Jack again. The final scene shows her taking Jack to Eve's cottage. As he follows her inside, Benny says "Bless me father, for I have sinned," implying they have finally consummated their courtship.


Cast

*
Chris O'Donnell Christopher Eugene O'Donnell (born June 26, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He played Charlie Sims in '' Scent of a Woman'', Chris Reece in '' School Ties'', D'Artagnan in ''The Three Musketeers'', Jack Foley in the drama film '' ...
as Jack Foley *
Minnie Driver Amelia Fiona Jessica "Minnie" Driver (born 31 January 1970) is an English actress. She rose to prominence with her break-out role in 1995's '' Circle of Friends''. She went on to star in a wide range of films including the cult classic ''Grosse ...
as Bernadette "Benny" Hogan *
Saffron Burrows Saffron Domini Burrows (born 22 October 1972) is an English actress and model who has appeared in films such as '' Circle of Friends,'' ''Wing Commander,'' '' Deep Blue Sea,'' '' Gangster No. 1,'' '' Enigma,'' ''Troy,'' '' Reign Over Me'' and '' ...
as Nan Mahon *
Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...
as Sean Walsh *
Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...
as Simon Westward * Geraldine O'Rawe as Eve Malone *
Aidan Gillen Aidan Murphy (born 24 April 1968), better known as Aidan Gillen (), is an Irish actor. He is the recipient of three Irish Film & Television Awards and has been nominated for a British Academy Television Award, a British Independent Film Award, ...
as Aidan Lynch * Mick Lally as Dan Hogan * Britta Smith as Mrs. Hogan *
Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds (; born 9 February 1953) is an Irish actor. Born in Belfast, Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover'' (1989), ''Persuasion'' (19 ...
as Professor Flynn * Tony Doyle as Dr. Foley * Jason Barry as Nasey Mahon


Differences from the novel

There are several differences between the film script and the novel it is based on, the most notable being that Benny and Jack do not reunite at the end of the book. Other key differences include: *In the novel only Benny and Eve are childhood friends; they do not meet Nan (who was born and grew up in Dublin) until Benny's first day of university. *Several major characters from the novel do not appear in the film, notably Mother Francis (the Mother Superior who raises Eve as a daughter in the convent) and Kit Hegarty (Eve's landlady, whose son's death brings the principal characters together). *Jack's switch from law to medicine does not happen in the novel. *Sean Walsh remains in Knockglen and marries the owner of the local hotel in the novel, a plot not featured in the film. *Benny does not confront Sean alone in the novel, and there is no scene of attempted sexual assault.


Reception

''Circle of Friends'' was positively received by critics, as the film holds a 78% rating on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on 36 reviews.


References


External links

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''Circle of Friends''
a
Shot at Trinity
(database of films shot at Trinity College Dublin) {{Pat O'Connor 1995 films 1995 drama films English-language Irish films Irish drama films Films directed by Pat O'Connor Films based on Irish novels Films scored by Michael Kamen Savoy Pictures films Films set in Dublin (city) 1990s English-language films 1990s female buddy films