Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story

4
A singular portrait

The Plot: Edna O’Brien had a great lust for life. As a child growing up she identified with the simple, carefree life of the cows in the nearby field but wanted more. Growing up in the small and small-minded County Clare town of Scariff wasn’t the most inspiring environment for her creative juices. Unlike most burgeoning writers, she looked past the idea of writing what you know. Instead, she embraced the idea of writing what she wanted to know, imagining the kind of life she might lead as a wide-eyed country girl coming to Dublin. This was the basis of her first novel, The Country Girls, which was condemned as ‘filth’ by Charlie Haughey and swiftly banned by the State. Undeterred, she sought to continue writing and directing her own life, her own way…

The Verdict: The standard of Irish feature documentaries has been particularly strong of late, from the insightful Mrs Robinson to the rib-tickling Housewife Of The Year. They have something in common with the latest honourable film to continue that trend, Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story. All of them are about contemporary Irish women who had to tackle the patriarchy in an Ireland of not-so-long-ago and strike out on their own while maintaining their dignity and composure. The late Edna O’Brien was a unique talent, much misunderstood in certain quarters who were brusque in their condemnation of her. Writer and journalist Kevin Myers expressed a subtle willingness ‘to stick a hatchet’ in her head. Quite. So, who was this lady who left us at the grand old age of 93 and inspired such admiration in international circles and such hate back on the auld sod?

Many of the answers can be found in this consistently engaging documentary from Sinead O’Shea, who has previous good form in the documentary format with Pray For Our Sinners and A Mother Brings Her Son To Be Shot. Told chronologically, it recounts the life of O’Brien as she grew up in a stultifying environment and among parents who weren’t exactly enthralled by her books. Her stories were bracingly honest about the relationships between women and men, leading to all her books being banned in Ireland – for a period anyway. Thankfully, we’ve moved on from taking such a moral high ground. There are thoughtful contributions from the likes of Gabriel Byrne, who said that she moved from ‘who do you think you are?’ to being a figure of ridicule among her peers. Her two sons Carlo and Sasha provide further insight into O’Brien’s relationship with their father Ernest, a fellow writer who felt threatened by her talent. However, it’s the archive material where the film really comes into its own.

O’Shea has dug up a wealth of archival interviews of O’Brien with everyone from Melvyn Bragg to Vincent Browne, which are carefully stitched into the film to progress her story. What becomes apparent in them is that O’Brien is unapologetically herself throughout no matter the time period, generally slating men based on her experience but saying that they have at least one use (guess). She never much believed in love, thinking it got in the way and had a string of encounters with famous men. Her world view was very much her own and this is still evident in interviews with O’Brien shortly before her death. Speaking slowly but with conviction, she’s still something of a character in these moments. Although her subject didn’t get to see the finished film, O’Shea regards it as the final statement, to clarify things and maybe settle some scores.

O’Shea has successfully captured not only the spirit of Edna O’Brien but her talent, personality, sense of humour and unwillingness to conform to expected standards. Documentary filmmakers often have to be at a remove from their subject so that it doesn’t become a love-in basking in admiration. They shouldn’t stand too far back from their subject either, due to the risk of not connecting the audience to their subject. O’Shea has found that sweet spot between them, being a singular portrait of a singular mind. It’s taken with a warmly respectful perspective while portraying O’Brien’s prickliness with a knowing sense of humour. Recommended.

Rating: 4 / 5

Review by Gareth O’Connor

Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story
A singular portrait
Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story (Ireland / 12A / 100 mins)

In short: A singular portrait

Directed by Sinead O'Shea.

Starring Edna O'Brien, Jessie Buckley, Gabriel Byrne.

4
A singular portrait