Just For Lookin' Thru

On a rainy night in Truro the audience file in to a dimly lit auditorium. The curtains open onto a bright, very smart set – a stylish Manhattan apartment, boldly coloured in maroon and orange with a chrome and glass galley kitchen to one side. A young man enters from what must be the bedroom, wearing only a bath towel, and the row of middle-aged ladies behind me snigger and giggle, shoving each other and mumbling their approval. He moves around the apartment with confident ease, as though this is his place but, when a woman comes out of the bedroom in a robe, their exchange is perplexing. Not a couple at all, Camille (Karen Drury), a wealthy and successful jewellery designer, has brought this young man home from a party, and admits to a weakness for waiters with charm. She tries to pay him off but he won’t take the money and he won’t leave. His earlier confidence is replaced by what seems to be offended sensitivity, but soon becomes smug arrogance as he sits back in her arm...

A film about promises and secrets, this love story begins in1941 in Branagan, Michigan, takes us to Belfast during World War II, and during the ‘troubles’ in 1991, and completes the circle back in the US. Attenborough’s direction allows the audience to be active throughout, working out what is happening, calculating back to what must have happened earlier, and putting pieces of the puzzle together. Three friends all love Ethel Ann (Mischa Barton) although why they all love her is not clear. She’s very lovely to look at, but the script doesn’t give clues as to what makes her so exceptional that they love her for as long as they live. Her desirability is central to the story; the audience needs to feel as passionate about Ethel Ann as do Teddy, Jack and Chuck. Ethel-Anne chooses Teddy (Stephen Amell) and the two secretly marry because Teddy is believed to be not good enough for Ethel Ann. Say what? Teddy is handsome, polite, well-spoken, hard-working and decent. He’s b...