Nora
Screenplay by Gerard Stembridge and Pat Murphy.
Directed by Pat Murphy.
[United States]: First Look Home Entertainment, c2001.
- Starring:
- Ewan McGregor
- Susan Lynch
- Peter McDonald
- Roberto Citran
- Veronica Duffy
NORA ***
James Joyce and Nora Barnacle had the kind of marriage that makes people wonder what keeps them together -- a bookish genius and a chambermaid make unlikely bedfellows. (Or perhaps they're likely bedfellows; whether they have anything to talk about afterward is the only thing that makes them unlikely.) By her own admission, Nora never read any of Joyce's books, though she was the inspiration for Ulysses' Molly Bloom.
To the film's credit, Nora -- based on Brenda Maddox's 1988 biography of the same name -- sheds light on this odd pairing, presenting a wealth of details about the emotional side of Joyce's life.
The film begins with "Jim" Joyce (Ewan McGregor) picking up Nora (Susan Lynch) on Nassau Street in Dublin. Their courtship proceeds with perfect turn-of-the-century propriety until one night when, as they cuddle in an alleyway, she undoes his trousers and puts her hand inside. Joyce is overwhelmed by this moment of intimacy -- or "naturalness" as he puts it -- and this creates an unexpectedly strong bond between them. Soon they leave together for Europe, and the rest of the film follows their relationship over the years.
Susan Lynch is the dominant force in the film -- she's such a firecracker, it's not a stretch to imagine a writer becoming enraptured by her. Her passion is intense, and Lynch is fearless in the raw love scenes. The film's sexual frankness serves as a potent reminder that sex wasn't an invention of the 1960s.
McGregor is less sure of himself, but that's not necessarily his fault -- the script almost reduces Joyce to a secondary character in the story of his own life. The biggest problem with the film is that there's not enough poetry in it -- it conveys the idea that Joyce is a raging soul, but is content to leave it at that. This lets the film down badly -- you're left wondering why on earth feisty Nora would put up with such a dull husband.
Review from eye Weekly -- Catharine Tunnacliffe