TARA ROAD

Basically it's a lot like life, and I've got about enough of that on my own.

There is nothing about Tara Road that will make you want to turn it off and walk away. It's an innocuous movie about two broken-hearted women attempting to move on with their lives, and it's easy enough to settle into their world for awhile. It's just that after an hour or so, you start to realize that you're getting anywhere with them.

When Marilyn Vine (Andie MacDowell) loses her son to a motorbike accident on his fifteenth birthday, she also loses touch with her life. She no longer feels anything for her husband, and waking up to the same house and the same friends only serves to remind her of the life she once had. Anxious for a change of pace, she decides to arrange for a house swap in Ireland.

In her attempt to reach a real estate professional who can orchestrate the swap, Marilyn winds up speaking to Ria (Olivia Williams). It's the middle of the night her time, but the words "house swap" strike a chord in Ria. With little thought, she volunteers her own home, and begins looking forward to a long holiday in New England. As it turns out, Ria has her own share of heartache to deal with. Her husband (and father to her two children) has just gotten his mistress pregnant, and he's planning to go off and make a life with her. This time, it's "the real thing". Ria doesn't know it yet, but her husband has also been dabbling in "the real thing" with her so-called best friend. Their entire relationship has been based upon deceit, yet all she wants to do is curl up in his arms and forget it all.

Once settled in their new environs, the two women slowly begin the process of finding themselves and reclaiming a sense of peace in their lives. Each is scooped up by the other's friends, family, and neighbors, and despite their own intentions, the women are drawn out of their sadness and into real life. The change of scenery brings the possibility of romance and happiness back to their lives, and inevitably, friendship blossoms between the two of them. Their chance encounter turns into something far more significant, and the house swap turns out to be a healing experience for both women.

It's a nice enough story, taken straight from the pages of Maeve Binchy's book, but for the most part, it's completely mundane. Stephen Rea (who plays Colm) is charming and endearing as he gently tries to win Marilyn's heart, but a lot of the time, it's just no fun hanging out with Marilyn and Ria. They're sad. And it shows. Basically it's a lot like life, and I've got about enough of that on my own.