The people of Matt’s past are no longer the shadowy figures of his memory but live people in the flesh.
The villager’s reaction to Matt’s return generally ranges from disapproval to hostility.
Shots of idyllic rural countryside depict the ideal nature of country life, yet these images are juxtaposed with the social reality of life in this small town: claustrophobia, grudge-holding, and gossip. The isolation sought by Matt as a writer is not to be found in his native Tyrone village. Little did Matt know that these ghosts have not yet been buried, the people he has wronged or been wronged by are still present so Matt must face the errors and decisions he made about twenty-five years ago as if a day has not passed. Hiding away in the house of a local parishioner who has recently died, Matt, with the help of his brother, the local parish priest, sets about the painful process of trying to re-remember the ghosts from his pasts to dreg up some inspiration.
JON MCCONNELL CINESCOPE FULL
While we can gather that Matt’s return will be more chaotic than comforting it’s clear that as a writer he is willing to seek inspiration from anywhere, daring to tread on this land full of emotional minefields just to find the words he needs. The idea comes from Matt’s editor however, we get the impression that he won’t necessarily be welcomed back gladly into the arms of his native land. There is a suggestion that he returns to Ireland.
We get a quick flash of the current life Matt has carved out for himself – a once note-worthy Irish writer living in New York who is no longer able to coast on the success of his book and in desperate need of inspiration. The film opens with some beautifully lush shots of Irish countryside, green enough to make any expat weep. Irene Falvey follows Colin Broderick’s film in which Northern Irish writer Matt Donnelly returns home to Tyrone having not been back for 30 years, to face the ghosts of his past.Ī Bend in the River directed by Colin Broderick and starring John Duddy as Matt who journeys back into his past, battling demons he had long since run away from.