The Secret of Roan Inish - 1994
Directed by John Sayles
Written by John Sayles
Based on a novel by Rosalie K. Fry
Starring Jeni Courtney, Eileen Colgan
& Mick Lally
If I had a young daughter I think she'd enjoy
The Secret of Roan Inish, and I think I'd enjoy watching it with her - without one, or any other children to watch this with, it's more difficult. Through a child's eyes the mystical and magical elements would ring more true, and there'd be a vicarious thrill as young Fiona Coneelly discovers her family has an extraordinary bloodline which includes a Selkie. I'm far too jaded to take anything like that at face value - and truth be told I even struggle a little with films depicting angels and magical creatures that are even meant for adults. A Selkie is something like a mermaid - half human and half seal, they can shed their seal-skin to reveal their human form. Folk-tales involving them usually come from Scotland, Ireland or Scandinavia and usually involve a female Selkie being beholden to a man who steals their skin, whereby they eventually return to the sea once it has been found or returned, abandoning their husband and children, who spot her from time to time in seal form over the ensuing years. It's a mythological creature I have never seen before depicted in a film, this being an adaptation of Canadian writer Rosalie K. Fry's children's novel
The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry (originally published as
Child of the Western Isles)
The film takes place not long after the Second World War. Fiona Coneelly (Jeni Courtney) has recently lost her mother to illness, and has been sent to live with her grandparents in a fishing village off the coast of Ireland. Talking to her family, we discover that they all used to inhabit a small island called Roan Inish, and that Fiona once had a brother, Jamie, who was lost as a baby when his crib floated out to sea as they were leaving. She also discovers that one of her ancestors had a wife that was a Selkie, and that the dark-haired children that are born are closely related to it. She hears tales about Jamie being spotted sailing along in his little crib, and one day while visiting the island she spots Jamie herself. She comes to the conclusion that if the family were to return to Roan Inish whatever force that is keeping Jamie from them will allow him to return. The film shines brightest when a tale is being told - tweaking just enough with lighting and cinematographic elements to take us into another realm. This is especially true when we get to see Susan Lynch bathed in orange light, transforming into human form and simmering on a beach as the Selkie instigator of the whole story.
Cinematographer Haskell Wexler was an awesomely expert hand that director John Sayles had at his disposal. Wexler was director of photography on
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and had won 2 Oscars by the time he filmed
The Secret of Roan Inish, for
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in 1967 and
Bound for Glory in 1977. Sayles had him use all aspects of technique and technology during the difficult shoot in Donegal, Ireland, where weather conditions changed so frequently the entire crew had to be on their toes and sometimes change the order in which scenes were shot. Sometimes foggy, and sometimes brightly lit, the film shows how Wexler, a veteran, could conjure exactly what was needed at any given time, and he had added challenges here when scenes were being shot at sea, or when they involved seals that were sometimes trained real ones and at other times animatronic robotic seals. The movie definitely looks great, and is a film that gives Ireland a dream-like fantastic quality with earthy greens and cool rocky greys. It's a consolation for someone like me who hasn't been completely swept away by the story alone, apart from it's fantasy sequences.
John Sayles is partly of Irish descent and had wrote and/or directed films in a multitude of genres by the time he adapted and directed
The Secret of Roan Inish, having made his debut feature in 1980,
Return of the Secaucus 7 which many compare to
The Big Chill. He'd just been nominated for an Oscar for his previous screenplay - that for
Passion Fish in 1992 - and would go on to be nominated again for writing the script to
Lone Star which was released in 1996. He was at a career high-point, and comes across as an exceptionally thoughtful and intelligent writer and director. He'd written three novels by the time this film came along, and the purposeful creativity he put into this family film - a difficult kind of movie to get just right - served it as well as it could possibly be served. If I had kids I'd like to be able to show them
The Secret of Roan Inish as something that rises above much of the asinine and meaningless action-orientated kind of films that are produced with more regularity these days. If I were younger I would have taken to the seals enthusiastically (the live ones caused Sayles no end of troubles) and I thought the lonely countryside, that seems completely at peace, was captured perfectly. Sayles also imbued the kids in this story with a strong work ethic, where they give their all to simply provide their family with a chance of reclaiming Jamie and their connection with the land.
One aspect that didn't work for me in particular, however, was young Jeni Courtney who leads the film as Fiona Coneelly. She was a non-actor who was chosen because she looked right for the part, and I didn't find her convincing in her role. At times her monotone delivery became annoying, and her cries of "Jamie!" whenever she spotted her young brother made me cringe, my ears stinging and my eyes watering. The rest of the cast is littered with either amateurs or actors who are most well-known from Irish television - there are no famous faces to distract, except for John Lynch in the small role as Tadhg. Lynch was one of the leads in
Angel Baby, which is a film I recommend - a tragic love story with two people with severe mental illnesses falling for each other. The 1990s were a good time for John Lynch. This isn't really a film that depends on it's performances however - rather it's Rosalie K. Fry's story and it's adaptation and Wexler's cinematography that bring it off. What adds to it is frequent John Sayles-collaborator Mason Daring's score which manages to add a touch of ecstatic Irish joyfulness to proceedings.
Daring had been providing John Sayles films with their musical accompaniment since Sayles set out directing in 1980 with
Secaucus 7 - which Daring was providing legal work for before Sayles had heard any of his music. Ever since, the two have worked closely together, and nearly everything Sayles has done has been provided with a Mason Daring score. For
The Secret of Roan Inish a magical Irish flavour is maintained by a wide diversity of instruments which seem to emanate from the ground itself in the form of violins, drums, flutes and quite often vocals which are performed by Irish musician Maire Breatnach and Eileen Loughanne. Loughanne's give especial other-worldliness to the Selkie legend scenes with Susan Lynch. I'd credit Daring's score with complimenting Wexler's work behind the camera and producing such a successful film that so many saw so much magic in. A lot of the music has an ancient quality to it, speaking of many generations and their history with the Irish landscape - it takes you to a place that is so much more at ease than most others, if not still challenging to forge a life in. Mason Daring was nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award for his score, but was beaten out by Randy Newman and
Toy Story.
The Secret of Roan Inish provides a kind of bridge between humans and nature, especially in relation to the seals which occupy the coastline and waters which we see throughout the film - they guide Coneelly family members to safety when their boats sink, and become directly related to the family through the marriage between Selkie and Coneelly. When the family leave the island, they take guardianship of young Jamie Coneelly and watch over him. They're beautiful creatures that I'd have liked to have seen even more of - although the robotic ones that poke their head out of the water to watch goings-on by humans do look just
slightly unnatural, as do the mechanical seals sitting on rocks. They take up only a small amount of seal footage overall, with trained ones taking up the slack. If that were not challenging enough for the filmmakers here, they also had to deal with seagulls, creatures which are even more difficult to film. It all works out to the extent that John Sayles himself was able to edit together an easily digestible and magical tale that's easy to follow and does provide that connection between man and the wild.
Being presented from Fiona's point of view, this is a film that is best viewed through a child's eyes, or at least with kids. I can appreciate how well made this is, and certainly soak in it's atmosphere, but the story has at it's center a character who is child we're meant to relate to - and that left me behind. The more fantastic elements would be much more easy to digest as a child, especially as everything is being presented in a non-fantastical way. I can't imagine how seals could look after a human child, and raise him - so this was a children's story that I didn't feel a connection with, but one which someone younger really could. I rate this film as a balance between how well made I think it is, and how much I enjoyed it, and in that respect
The Secret of Roan Inish comes off as a very well made film that I didn't get a great amount of narrative enjoyment from. I did very much like the fantasy/flashback scenes however, as they could exist apart from that narrative and could be as outlandish as they liked without needing me to believe that they were really happening. It would get a much higher rating if I were rating it objectively. I really admire what John Sayles and his crew have done here, transforming a children's novel into a magical, mystical film that I'm sure many people have fond memories of seeing over the years.
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That's totally cool that you love this film so much, I hope you don't vote it last
