A lot of films, especially love stories, seek a level of comfort through predictability, but this one goes too far.
Comment
01/01/00
Circle of Friends (1995)
76
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:34
Fresh:26
Rotten:8
Average Rating:6.5/10
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Three college friends in Dublin come of age when they discover romances that will change their lives forever. The tale centers on Benny, a bland and somewhat chunky innocent girl who falls... [More]
Starring: Chris O'Donnell, Minnie Driver, Colin Firth, Geraldine O'Rawe
Director: Pat O'Connor
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Reviews for Circle of Friends
Top CriticWry, wise, and wonderful valentine to intimate matters of the heart.
08/22/02
Heartwarming and poignant, a love story that glows with intelligence and feeling.
01/01/00
Top CriticDefinitely in the Masterpiece Theatre tradition; it's soft and safe, but extraordinarily easy to take.
01/09/02
There is much to enjoy here, not least of which is Driver's wonderful performance.
01/01/00
It's not a challenging movie or an original one, but it does have its pleasures -- most notably a radiant, soulful debut performance from Driver.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe fizzing dialogue gets all the little details right, but the plot's nothing new, and the lingering shots of hibernian greenery aim straight for mid-Atlantic bland-out.
02/09/06
Like an old-fashioned theater program, it tells you early on who and what each of its characters is -- and so they prove to be, enjoyably.
01/01/00
Top CriticYoung Benny has a nice smile, and she and Jack seem like pleasant people, but in the end (and in the beginning and in the middle) it's hard to get worked up about them.
01/01/00
Top CriticOld-fashioned and nostalgic, Pat O'Connor's nicely directed tale of friendship between three Irish girls features a strong central performance from Minnie Driver that promises a bright future in Hollywood pictures.
04/27/07
Top CriticA heartfelt love letter to circles of friends everywhere.
01/01/00
Beyond eliciting warm, animated performances from his actors (with a cast that also includes Alan Cumming as a hair-raising suitor of Benny's), Mr. O'Connor gives Circle of Friends an enveloping look and sound.
05/20/03
Top CriticExcellent acting by all the players and the film's unique change of setting make Circle of Friends a worthwhile picture, but it suffers from a painfully slow pace and no real originality in its message.
01/01/00
Mostly a warm, charming and insightful little romance.
01/01/00
The writer (Andrew Davies) took no risks, and the result is a completely predictable plot.
01/01/00
Three female friends grow up in a small town in Ireland in the mid-50s and attend college in Dublin in this nostalgic soap opera that's vaguely evocative of Peyton Place, though generally less memorable.
03/11/08
Top CriticIt's intelligent and moving and it never resorts to cheap melodrama.
03/23/03
Everyone likes a story about the 'ugly duckling' snaring the handsome prince. We all identify with impossible hopes, and this movie satisfies fairy tale longings.
01/01/00
The movie, a self-consciously simple exercise in familiarity, sometimes lapses into complacency.
01/01/00
Driver is impulsively sweet, touching and hilarious as she copes with her new, romantic life.
01/01/00
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