There are times as a film lover when you try to approach a new project with a clear foundation to give the most objective consideration possible, but you are only human when it comes to the effects of the outside world. When reviews for the new John Patrick Shanley film Wild Mountain Thyme dropped in December, the general consensus was that the film had an ending so completely out of the realm of logic that it left most people reeling. Now, claims like these are hard to get out of your head once you take the chance to evaluate such a film yourself. It is quite rare, but I have personally walked away from a few movies where I was genuinely infuriated by the direction it had taken. Recent examples of this would include the almost insultingly horrific endings to Life Itself and Collateral Beauty. This was the barometer I was working with heading into Wild Mountain Thyme – expect the unexpected and you will not be caught off guard. What I was not expecting was the film to be so incredibly uninteresting that the key revelation at the end of the film would garner nothing more than a shoulder shrug.
Shanley has had quite an interesting career in film; he burst onto the scene with 1987’s Moonstruck for which he won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, and his latest film was the Academy Award nominated Doubt from 2008. Heck, he even wrote the screenplay for personal childhood favorite We’re Back! A Dinosaur’s Story in 1993, so he will probably always get a pass from me. Yet, this new film based on his play Outside Mullingar just leaves you wondering what made him so keen to adapt this to the big screen after a twelve year absence from Hollywood. The story brings you to the quaint Irish countryside to experience the lives of two families on adjacent farms. The first sign that there may be a problem is when you hear none other than Christopher Walken coming through your speakers as Tony Reilly, the aging Irish patriarch who announces he is dead and bringing us his thoughts from beyond. If you are wondering if Christopher Walken can pull off an Irish accent, he cannot. And neither can anyone else in the movie, including the lone real-life Irishman, Jamie Dornan. Rarely have I heard such broad interpretations of a language delivered this unironically.
Beyond the botched accents, the film delivers characterizations so broad and full of whimsy that you feel like you are in some kind of sketch show. To give some context, the heart of the story involves local oddball Anthony (Jamie Dornan), a sweet man who guards a secret and his heart from his neighbor and longtime friend, Rosemary (Emily Blunt). Anthony has seemingly had feelings for Rosemary for quite some time, but his hesitancy to do anything about pushes the limits of patience for all parties involved. Rosemary has pined for Anthony since childhood, but she keeps steadfast in her resolve to wait for Anthony to make his move. An unintended consequence of Anthony’s reluctance to act on his feelings is his father’s decision to leave the family farm to an American nephew (Jon Hamm) due to the unlikely notion of him settling down. The entire film is built on the foundation that these two are eventually going to come together, but narratively it just all falls apart. This is not only due to the ridiculous revelations as to why Anthony is reluctant to get close to Rosemary; this storyline fails because the chemistry between these two is nonexistent. These are both gorgeous, charming people, and the sparks with one another are absolute zero.
It would be unfair to criticize every single aspect of the film, so it should be noted that the cinematography on display here is truly stunning. Technically, the film has many details to appreciate and admire. This film is quite boring, but it is a gorgeous bore. Shanley really failed these performers when he developed the dialogue for these characters. Emily Blunt should not be reduced to playing a character with almost no agency in her own life, always just waiting for a man to come to his senses when she could be off bettering her life. The only moment that allows Blunt to show off her talents is when she brings the titular song to life with a warm, enveloping performance at the local pub. At only 1 hour and 42 minutes, the film feels much longer than its reasonable runtime. It forces characters to keep spinning their wheels until you can not be more ready for this interminable courtship to be completed. None of these characters act like a normal human being, and the performances do nothing to enhance what is happening on screen. Actions happen on screen without an apparent rhyme or reason, such as when Rosemary asks Anthony to open the shutters when a storm is approaching. I wish this film had an ending that made me mad because then it would least be memorable. As it stands, this movie is just a slog that wastes the natural talents of these performers.
Video Quality
Wild Mountain Thyme comes to DVD with a 480p transfer that is quite beautiful for the format. This DVD offers up an impressive amount of detail from the sparse production design to clothing. Compression artifacts are present without being overwhelming. Black levels are quite strong with only a minimal amount of blocking. Colors are nice and fairly vibrant, especially in the bright daytime scenes that serve as the primary setting for the film. The green of the rolling hills and landscape are quite vibrant and leap off the screen. Skin tones look natural, and there are some decent facial details present. This presentation is just about as good as a DVD can look. This would have made for an excellent looking Blu-Ray, though.
Audio Quality
The DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio track that sounds pretty great. The film is mostly dialogue driven with very little in the way of action to give the track any overwhelming sign of life. Dialogue is mixed well and comes through crystal clear without ever being stepped on by the score or any sound effects. The score from Amelia Warner provides a pleasant undercurrent throughout the movie that fills the surround speakers. Directionality is rendered accurately so that sounds originate from all the natural spots. Environmental sounds such as animal noises add a dynamic touch to the proceedings. Although there is not constant activity in the track, it presents the movie exactly as it was intended and that is really all you can ask. The disc also includes various optional subtitles.
Special Features
There are no special features included on this disc.
Final Thoughts
Wild Mountain Thyme is a film that just never delivers anything exciting or compelling. One of its greatest sins as a film is making these normally great performers be quite terrible for the first time in a long time. Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released a DVD with a good A/V presentation for the format. This is one that is strongly encouraged to be rented before you purchase.
Wild Mountain Thyme is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
