Issue date: 11/26/09 Section: Film & Music

Cathleen and Michael`s doomed romance is as dull as the rocks they sit on Photo: Mongrel Media

A Newfie rock enthusiast walks into a bar in Ireland in 1969. He falls in love with the local waitress, who unfortunately is destined to be a nun. Their relationship shakes up the 'sediment' that the town is resting on. Ba domp domp. All joking aside, the new film Love and Savagery, an Irish/Canadian collaboration, is nothing more than a series of clichés and tropes- making the film just as void of any sort of punch as my previous punchline.

Based upon the novel of the same name by Des Walsh, the film is an attempt at a star-crossed love story, but ends up lumbering along predictably. Charismatic Canadian poet and rock nut Michael (Allan Hawco) travels to Ireland to trace his roots and view the vast foray of limestone that surrounds the scenery of the small town he's staying in. There he meets (and quickly falls for) the sweet barmaid at his inn Cathleen (Sarah Greene). The two quickly bond, as in one instance when she asks why his accent is so like hers and he responds "My people are from here," reinforcing their deep instant connection. Unfortunately, Cathleen is destined to be a nun, and Michael's intervention causes antagonism amongst the townsfolk. The two gaze at each other across the landscape longingly while Michael does his best to avoid being beat up by the locals. The film progresses predictably: Cathleen is pressured by her friends and family, Michael is persistent, the two go off to an island together which causes tongues to wag, something awful happens and the two are driven apart.

It is astounding how formulaic this film is. Michael's best friend is as jolly, bearded and rotund as they come. Cathleen's stern uncle glowers at her for her decisions, not understanding what she is feeling, and so on with the usual stock character clichés. The pressures of religion and society versus that of true love are what keep these two kids- and the film- going. Cathleen cannot be with him due to a promise she made to her dying mother, and Michael gives her very little credit for her religious choices, constantly visiting when he's not supposed to. It is difficult to vouch for their sincerity, but that might be because of the immediate connection they have and the series of clichés they use to describe their feelings for one another- at one point Cathleen describes him as someone she feels "she has known for a very long time."

John N. Smith certainly has an eye for scenery as his camera pans across the vast Irish landscape, which is later mirrored in the shores of Newfoundland. Outside of that, the film is generic and often forced, though that might be due to what little interesting material they all had to work with. The film flirts with elements that could cause some interest- the relationships of Newfoundlanders and the Irish in contrast to Canada and England, tensions between desire and faith, and any ancient Celtic tradition involving rock- all of which are skirted for the oldest love story, and certainly the most overdone.

The film is certainly competent, but is so dull and trite that one wonders what the point of it all was. The poet interacts with a creature that can never be his and becomes inspired, only to remain in sadness in the end. One can only wish that the film had had its own unrequited love- maybe that would have given it the inspiration to become marginally interesting. Love and Savagery is as dull as the rocks the characters walk on, and features a love story trod on by too many, leaving the surface smooth and thoroughly dull.

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