Closing The Ring: First Reviews

Mischa Barton’s "Closing the Ring" just premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Some early reviews have started to trickle in. TIFF viewers are giving the movie 8 out of 10, although the critics have not been so kind. That said, Mischa appears to be the gem of the movie.

From Eye Weekly:

CLOSING THE RING **

The funeral of a WWII veteran in 1991 Michigan leads us to Belfast treasure hunters, the Provisional IRA, a long-dead American airman and a 50-year-old love triangle in Attenborough’s sentimental drama. It’s a compelling story propped up by MacLaine and Plummer (except when they’re playing embarrassingly, Dudley Moore-dly drunk) and natural performances by Canucks Neve Campbell and Gregory Smith, and then pulled down by cloyingly twee, fiddly-diddly Irish bunk and an utterly robotic (though thankfully brief) performance from a key support player. This shouldn’t be memorable mainly as a movie in which fans of The OC got to see Mischa Barton with her kit off, but…. KG

From Reel Film:

** 1/2

Closing the Ring is a relentlessly uneven yet occasionally compelling drama that follows a recently-widowed woman (Shirley MacLaine’s Ethel) as she recalls her youth and her relationship with three men, as well as her efforts – in the current day – to placate her daughter (Neve Campbell) and former flame (Christopher Plummer). The inclusion of a seemingly pointless subplot concerning an Irish man (Martin McCann’s Jimmy) with a penchant for digging up World War II artifacts sporadically brings the movie to a dead stop, although – to be fair – the significance of such shenanigans does become increasingly clear as the movie progresses. It’s clear almost immediately that Closing the Ring works best in its flashback sequences, as stars Mischa Barton, Gregory Smith, Stephen Amell, and David Alpay effectively portray the camaraderie and tragedy inherent within the lives of their respective characters. And while MacLaine and Plummer are admittedly quite good, there’s just no denying that they’ve been saddled with some seriously melodramatic material – with the overlong running time and inclusion of several false endings only exacerbating such problems. Still, Closing the Ring generally comes off as an agreeable, distinctly old-fashioned piece of work that ultimately succeeds in spite of its various deficiencies.

The full US & Canada release dates have not been released. A 2008 release is expected.

Tags: closing the ring, closing the ring reviews, mischa barton, mischa barton movies