My Sailor, My Love
Bríd Brennan triumphs in an Irish love story told with distinction.
James Cosmo and Bríd Brennan
The title chosen for it is not one that does this interesting film any favours. It surely suggests some glib romantic tale, the sort of thing associated in the literary world with the popular works of Barbara Cartland. It is the case that My Sailor, My Love is indeed a love story, but it is atypical in dealing with the bond that develops between a widower, a retired sea captain, and an elderly widow who is employed by the captain’s daughter to be a housekeeper for her father. Furthermore, although the tale could seem to be one that would yield something most suited to Sunday afternoon television, Klaus Härö’s film has qualities that take it well beyond that. Admittedly, this is likely to be a work that appeals first and foremost to older viewers, but it's good to find a piece of this kind which is not superficial. There is a substantial bonus too in that the film contains what will surely be one of the best performances by an actress that we shall see this year.
Although Klaus Härö is Finnish, My Sailor, My Love is set in Ireland and consequently it marks his first feature film in English. A striking opening sequence shows women in therapy seen speaking in close-up as though direct to camera and the fourth of them to appear is Grace (Catherine Walker). Having been introduced in this way, we then find Grace driving through the countryside to visit her aged father, Howard (James Cosmo), on his birthday. She is travelling with her husband, Martin (Aidan O’Hare), but we soon get indications that the marriage is in an uneasy state. However, the main emphasis is on another difficult relationship – that between Grace and Howard. Her father is a difficult, crotchety old man wanting to hang on to his independence while Grace is secretly planning to find a care home for him. It is in any case apparent that Howard has been a poor father (a situation made worse by his frequent absences at sea) and, as becomes increasingly clear, Grace blames him for neglecting her mother in her last years when it had fallen to Grace herself, a nurse, to look after her. Still dutiful but still resentful too, Grace decides that while Howard remains in his own home a housekeeper needs to be found – and that is how Annie (Bríd Brennan) comes into the story.
Grace remains a central figure, but the prime focus is on Howard and Annie and on the way in which Howard’s initial antagonism to being looked after grows into a bond between them which in turn leads to love despite both being so old. There is extra drama in Grace’s resentment of Annie becoming the central figure in her father’s life, but the whole situation is one which could have been portrayed in simplistic terms with Grace turning into a villainous figure and the couple being shown in an increasingly sentimental light. But we find instead that the story, however popular in tone, is handled with an underlying subtlety that is a pleasant surprise. There is a reality about the characters which recognises that everyone has his or her own viewpoint and that people can change even if old wounds can fester for years. No one is totally unsympathetic here and all are fallible thus giving us a story which leaves one with the sense that happiness is only rarely attained and that it is precious when it is found.
With the original screenplay being by European writers and its director being Finnish, My Sailor, My Love could easily have been one of those co-productions that ends up as an uneasy mishmash but instead everyone involved lends it distinction. Klaus Härö directs with real skill (his sole fault being an overindulgence in shots which include mirrors to the extent that this feature starts to stand out!). Both the photography of Robert Nordström and the editing by Philippe Ravoet add to the quality and, while the end result hardly counts as any kind of a masterpiece, it is to the credit of the writers, Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vikman, that the tale echoes the frailty of human lives as much as it does. But the extent to which this potential is realised is ultimately due to the performances that Härö has obtained from his actors. Those in support, headed by Nora-Jane Noone as Annie’s daughter Kelly, are all well cast, but what counts most of all is the contribution of the lead players. Cosmo and Walker both judge things admirably but the stand-out work is that of Bríd Brennan. This fine actress captures perfectly the emotional core of her role as Annie and does so to a degree which ensures that only one word will do to describe her achievement: beautiful.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Cast: James Cosmo, Bríd Brennan, Catherine Walker, Nora-Jane Noone, Aidan O’Hare, Bob Kelly, Nona Farrelly, Molly McCann, Carol O’Reilly, Ciara Fallon, Shane McCarthy, Shane G. Casey, Tara Flynn.
Dir Klaus Härö, Pro Kaarle Aho, David Collins and Kai Nordberg, Screenplay Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vikman, Ph Robert Nordström, Pro Des John Hand, Ed Philippe Ravoet, Music Michelino Bisceglia, Costumes Allison Byrne.
Samson Films/Making Movies-Signature Entertainment.
103 mins. Ireland/Finland/Belgium. 2022. UK Rel: 10 March 2023. Cert. 12.
