Star-studded cast, beautiful Irish landscapes, a Broadway play at its core — all this is offered to viewers by the film "Wild Mountain Thyme." But is it interesting to watch? Find out the answer in our review.

On February 11, the Irish film "Wild Mountain Thyme" starring Jamie Dornan and Emily Blunt hits Russian theaters. We tell you what to expect from John Patrick Shanley's film and why it's actually not what it seems at first glance.

Romance from the Irish fields

At the center of the plot are villagers Anthony (Dornan) and Rosemary (Blunt), who have known each other since childhood and are secretly in love. But they just can't be together, whether due to the guy's endless insecurity or external circumstances and territorial disputes. And it would have continued like that if a confident and seductive relative of Anthony from America (Jon Hamm) hadn't appeared on the horizon, offering Rosemary to leave the farm and go with him to the USA.

"Wild Mountain Thyme" is based on a Broadway play by John Patrick Shanley himself. And it seems that when transferring the material to the big screen, he aimed to achieve a certain theatricality from the actors and the production, which makes everything on screen look... strange. Strange humor, strange dialogues, strange emotions, strange central conflict.

Adding to the overall strangeness of the film is a heap of Irish stereotypes. When the camera once again flies over endless green hills with a flute playing in the background, you wonder: "Is this serious or is it irony beyond comprehension?" And that's not to mention the terrible and again stereotypical Irish accent, which Western viewers and critics complain about (in this regard, we are very lucky with the dubbing). At least they didn't bring in leprechauns.

Quirky charm

If after reading the synopsis and watching the trailers you decided that a light romantic comedy about crazy love awaits you, the film is actually different. It's completely different. This is not a typical rom-com with a standard set of genre clichés, like a bright meeting and a series of scenes where the characters argue, make up, kiss in the rain (although no, some of that list is still there). "Wild Mountain Thyme" is a much more quirky story about unusual people, in some ways detached from reality.

And in this quirkiness, perhaps, lies the main charm of the film. Handsome Jamie Dornan in the image of an awkward villager constantly brings a smile. Emily Blunt, accustomed to taking everything into her own hands on screen, can't help but make you fall in love with her. But is that enough for satisfaction from watching?

"Wild Mountain Thyme" is a film you really want to love and put on a par with, for example, "Silver Linings Playbook," but that's unlikely to happen.

Trailer: