This spooky thriller was compromised by three unnecessarily gruesome GOTCHA! moments. Set in the midst of the Cobh Literary Festival in County Cork, Ireland, this otherwise high-quality suspense film introduces three principal players:
- CiarĂ¡n Hinds ("Persuasion" and "Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day"), portrays a local widower who is striving to raise his two motherless children, tend his elderly father, and volunteer as a driver for celebrities who are visiting the Festival. Problem is, because of recent events in his home, he is starting to believe in ghosts.
- Iben Hjejle ("The Boss of it All" and "High Fidelity") plays an author of a best-selling novel about ghosts. Her character gets some unwanted attention from a visiting American author. This lovely Danish actress reminds me of a young Robin Wright Penn.
- Aidan Quinn ("Wild Child" and "Practical Magic") is a loutish American author, a pathetic philanderer, drunk and disorderly, but a celebrity who exudes charisma, just the same... (I LIKE Aidan Quinn.)
Because of dim lighting, whispered conversations and Irish accents, you might have a little trouble making out the dialogue. If so, you might want to wait for this one on DVD; it's scheduled to come out June 29th, so it won't be long... I'll send a reminder.