The Eclipse

2009 Drama

Michael Farr (Ciarán Hinds of Munich) is a depressed widower who teaches shop in the small seaside town of Cobh, in County Cork, Ireland, where he lives with his two children. While he continues to adjust to life without his beloved wife, who died two years earlier, he begins to experience strange, possibly supernatural occurrences connected to his elderly father-in-law, who is close to death in a local nursing home. When Michael volunteers at the town's annual literary festival, he's assigned to look after Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle of High Fidelity). Lena is known for her ghost stories, and Michael, impressed with the realistic nature of her writing, shares his recent experiences with her. While Michael and Lena grow closer, another famous author, Nicholas Holden (Aidan Quinn), a married man with a scandalous reputation, arrives in town for the festival, hoping to rekindle a brief affair he had with Lena a year before. As Michael and Nicholas clash over Lena's affections, Michael's supernatural visions grow more vivid and disturbing. The Eclipse was directed by Irish playwright Conor McPherson (The Actors), from a script by McPherson and author/playwright Billy Roche, loosely based on the story "Table Manners" from Roche's collection Tales from Rainwater Pond. The film had its world premiere at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival, where Hinds won the award for Best Actor in a Narrative Feature. more..

Director: Conor McPherson

Starring: Ciarán Hinds, Aidan Quinn,Iben Hjejle, Jim Norton, Eanna Hardwicke

Reviews

  • Hinds has been ready for a role of this size and shape for years; it was simply a matter of finding it, and its finding him.

    Michael Phillips - The Chicago Tribune

    27 April 2013

  • What holds The Eclipse together is Hinds' sorrowful and moving performance as a man haunted in more ways than one.

    Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

    27 April 2013

  • The Eclipse is needlessly confusing. Is it a ghost story or not? Perhaps this is my problem.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    27 April 2013

  • With apologies to George A. Romero and the impending zombie apocalypse, The Eclipse may be the most realistic film where something dead comes to life and tries to feast on human flesh. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/04/15/MVST1CTGJ4.DTL#ixzz0lDuetYGS

    Peter Hartlaub - The San Francisco Chronicle

    27 April 2013

  • Well worth seeing for its acting and its tempting cinematography. Don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to book a vacation in Cobh.

    Lou Lumenick - New York Post

    27 April 2013

Awards

  • After Dark Competition

    Chicago International Film Festival (2009)

     
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Film

    Irish Film and Television Awards (2010)

  • Best Feature Film

    Neuchâtel International Fantasy Film Festival (2010)

     
  • Best Original Score

    Satellite Awards (2010)

     
  • Conor McPherson

    Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival (2009)