Rosy Ryan (Sarah Miles) is not happy, yet she has everything: a good husband, Charles Shaughnessy (Robert Mitchum) whom she had been pining for; enough money; and her health. However, as a woman fixated on pursuing sexual transcendence, she finds her marriage more than disappointing.
Her drama, which is at the center of the 1970 epic film Ryan’s Daughter that recently aired on Turner Classic Movies (TCM), is all-consuming. Meanwhile, in this intimate story, British filmmaker David Lean — who helmed such classics such as Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), and Doctor Zhivago (1965) — places her as a mere speck striding along Ireland’s vast western coastline in a cosmic juxtaposition. On her isolated walk, Rosy crosses the local priest, Father Collins (Trevor Howard) who notices her distress. Although he is not easily fooled, Father Collins ministers to her, highlighting Rosy’s blessings, while trying to deduce the source of her anguish.
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