Closing The Ring has been lambasted by reviewers as too sentimental and mawkish, but those viewers who are past 40 or 50 will recall a more innocent time in movie theaters when great stories were told and films weren't always designed around specific actors and actresses with on cue special effects and computer generated images. Closing The Ring is such a film. It's based on a true story, which I recall reading in the newspaper some years ago. The star of the film is not the actors and actresses who people the film and play the parts. It's the story. Shifting time, loyalties, and dreams lost and found form the core of the film with second chances in life thrown in for good measure. While the screenplay is not always up to muster, it covers the necessary ground for the most part, and for some viewers, it will be a throwback to what was once known as good old fashioned entertainment.
Lord Attenborough has made several better films than Closing The Ring, but few of them have the charm and nostalgia of this one. Mischa Barton is the young lady promised to a soldier who never returns from the war, which is why any viewer who lived through any war years and lost someone dear will identify with the film. Shirley MacLaine is the older Ethel Ann version of the Mischa Barton character, and Christopher Plummer is the older character version of Jack, who has carried a buried torch for Ethel Ann all these years. Just as interesting is the subplot with Pete Postlethwaite as a grown man who is unwillingly faced with exercising his demons. Martin McCann as the young, persistent optimist Jimmy is a scene stealer in the film; he is like a match lighting the torch of healing and carrying it with him where e'er he goes. With healing comes pain and truth. This is Lord Attenborough's last film to date. *** of 4 stars.
Lord Attenborough has made several better films than Closing The Ring, but few of them have the charm and nostalgia of this one. Mischa Barton is the young lady promised to a soldier who never returns from the war, which is why any viewer who lived through any war years and lost someone dear will identify with the film. Shirley MacLaine is the older Ethel Ann version of the Mischa Barton character, and Christopher Plummer is the older character version of Jack, who has carried a buried torch for Ethel Ann all these years. Just as interesting is the subplot with Pete Postlethwaite as a grown man who is unwillingly faced with exercising his demons. Martin McCann as the young, persistent optimist Jimmy is a scene stealer in the film; he is like a match lighting the torch of healing and carrying it with him where e'er he goes. With healing comes pain and truth. This is Lord Attenborough's last film to date. *** of 4 stars.