Sometimes, all the talent in the world can’t make a picture work, and while “The Secret Scripture” had a great ensemble, and an acclaimed director, it failed to make much of a ripple when it premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival this fall. Indeed, the movie is still without a U.S. distributor, but the first trailer has landed nonetheless, providing a taste of what audiences can expect.
Based on the novel by Sebastian Barry, directed by Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot,” “In America“), and starring Rooney Mara, Vanessa Redgrave, Jack Reynor, Theo James, and Eric Bana, the film finds an elderly woman, committed to a mental hospital, reflecting on her life during the turbulent times of the 1930s and 1940s. Here’s the synopsis from TIFF:
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Roseanne McNulty (Redgrave) must vacate the soon-to-be demolished mental institution in Roscommon, Ireland that she’s called home for over 50 years. The hospital’s psychiatrist, Dr. William Grene (Bana), is called in to assess her condition. He finds himself intrigued by Roseanne’s seemingly inscrutable rituals and tics, and her fierce attachment to her Bible, which she has over the decades transformed into a palimpsest of scripture, drawings, and cryptic diary entries. As Grene delves deeper into Roseanne’s past, we see her as a young woman (Mara), whose charisma proves seductive. We learn that she moved to Sligo to work in her aunt’s café, fell in love with a dashing fighter pilot (Reynor, also at the Festival in Free Fire), and that a local priest (Theo James) fell tragically in love with her.
It really seems like this one is eventually destined for the VOD/limited release world, but first someone will have to step up and claim it.
