EDEN
Directed by Declan Recks
Produced by David Collins
Written by Eugene O’Brien, based on his play
Released by Liberation Entertainment
Ireland. 84 min. Not Rated
With  Aidan Kelly, Eileen Walsh, Padraic Delaney, Karl Sheils, Leslie Conroy & Sarah Greene
 

In a sleepy Irish town with no distractions except television, gossip, and a pint at the local pub, a failing marriage is difficult to disguise or deny. Thirtysomething Breda (Eileen Walsh) and Billy (Aidan Kelly) are closing in on their 10-year anniversary with nothing to look forward to except their beautiful children. Declan Recks’s Eden, adapted from a play by Eugene O’Brien and created by the producers of Once, tells their story with the kitchen sink realism that deems no act or emotion too trivial to document.

It’s both devastating and inspiring that the main problem eroding the couple’s relationship is Billy’s wandering eye, due in part to his waning attraction for his wife. I say inspiring because it seems so superficial and easy to solve, but devastating because no matter how much he hurts his passive wife, Billy simply can’t help himself. The object of his new affection is Imelda (Sarah Greene), a sultry local teenager with big hoop earrings and bouncy hair. Listening to his buddies’ tall tales of young mistresses, Billy nurses a delusion that Imelda could be receptive to his desire and tortures himself at every opportunity to make a move.  

Breda, meanwhile, languishes in her home, limiting her world to cooking, warm baths, and a kick of self improvement, which she hopes will reignite her husband’s passion. Her character, like Billy’s, teeters on a cliché only because her dilemma represents such a common, human experience. And though the melodramatic close-ups of Breda’s tormented facial expressions and occasional monologues—like when she vulnerably recounts a recurring sexual fantasy—may come across as over the top, the performances are solid and commensurate with the characters’ heartbreaking situation. Less forgivable is the forced tension of the camerawork. In an attempt to squeeze meaning out of a banal shot—Breda washing the dishes, for example—the camera slowly zooms in on her figure, purposelessly introducing confusion and suspense with the thriller-like gimmick.

Neither ambitious nor original, Eden is, at least ,honest. It sympathetically recreates a relationship and, even more forcefully, a town with such attention to detail that the simplistic story line glistens with reality. The vibe of the beer-soaked pubs and loudmouthed acquaintances add some cinematic soul to a movie with the heart of a play, making Breda and Billy’s collapsing marriage worth watching. Yana Litovsky
November 14, 2008