The Eclipse (2009 Film)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''The Eclipse'' is a 2009 Irish supernatural drama film written by Billy Roche and Conor McPherson, and directed by
Conor McPherson Conor McPherson (born 6 August 1971) is an Irish playwright, screenwriter and director of stage and film. In recognition of his contribution to world theatre, McPherson was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature in June 2013 by University C ...
and starring
Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love ...
,
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
,
Éanna Hardwicke Éanna Hardwicke is an Irish actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a child actor in Conor McPherson's '' The Eclipse'' (2009). His films since include '' Lakelands'' (2022). On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC One series '' ...
and
Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), '' Stakeout'' (1987) ...
.


Premise

Michael Farr (Ciarán Hinds) is a depressed widower who works as a teacher in the small seaside town of
Cobh Cobh ( ,), known from 1849 until 1920 as Queenstown, is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. With a population of 14,148 inhabitants at the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, Cobh is on the south si ...
, in
County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...
, 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 is assigned to look after Lena Morelle (Iben Hjejle). 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.


Cast

*
Ciarán Hinds Ciarán Hinds ( ; born 9 February 1953) is a British Northern Irish actor from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Hinds is known for a range of screen and stage roles. He has starred in feature films including '' The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Love ...
as Michael Farr *
Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (born 22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film ''High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far f ...
as Lena Morelle *
Aidan Quinn Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in '' Reckless'' (1984), and has starred in over 80 feature films, including ''Desperately Seeking Susan'' (1985), '' The Mission'' (1986), '' Stakeout'' (1987) ...
as Nicholas Holden *
Éanna Hardwicke Éanna Hardwicke is an Irish actor and filmmaker. He began his career as a child actor in Conor McPherson's '' The Eclipse'' (2009). His films since include '' Lakelands'' (2022). On television, he is known for his roles in the BBC One series '' ...
as Thomas Farr * Hannah Lynch as Sarah Farr * Jim Norton as Malachy *
Billy Roche Billy Roche (born 11 January 1949) is an Irish playwright and actor. He was born and still lives in Wexford and most of his writings are based there. Originally a singer with The Roach Band, he turned to writing in the 1980s. He has written a n ...
as Jim Belton * Hilary O'Shaughnessy as TV Interviewer


Production

It was filmed in Cobh, County Cork.


Release

It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on 24 April 2009 where, after reports of interest from several studios,
Magnolia Pictures Magnolia Pictures LLC is an American independent film distributor and production company, and is a subsidiary of Mark Cuban and Todd Wagner's 2929 Entertainment. Magnolia was formed in 2001 by Bill Banowsky and Eamonn Bowles, and specializes in ...
secured worldwide distribution rights for the film. The film aired on Irish public-service broadcaster
RTÉ One RTÉ One is an Irish free-to-air flagship television channel owned and operated by RTÉ. It is the most-popular and most-watched television channel in the country and was launched as ''Telefís Éireann'' on 31 December 1961, it was renamed ''R ...
on 17 March 2010. It was released in
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
n cinemas in April 2010.


Awards

* Méliès D'Argent Award for Best European Film * Best Film & Best Screenplay Awards 2010 for Billy Roche and Conor McPherson at the Irish Film & Television Academy Awards * Best Actor Award for Ciarán Hinds 2009 Tribeca Film Festival * Best Supporting Actor Award for Aidan Quinn 2010 Irish Film & Television Academy Awards


References


External links

* * * * * * ''The Eclipse'' at Scope: http://www.scope.nottingham.ac.uk/filmreview.php?issue=19&id=1257 {{DEFAULTSORT:Eclipse 2009 films Irish drama films 2009 drama films Films shot in Ireland Films set in Ireland 2000s English-language films Films directed by Conor McPherson English-language drama films 2000s Irish films