In the Irish countryside, two neighboring families, the Muldoons and the Reillys, have been feuding for generations. Their children, Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan) and Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt), have been dancing around their feelings for one another for years. But the two are forced to confront their feelings when Anthony’s ailing father contemplates leaving the farm to his nephew instead of his son.
Before I watched Wild Mountain Thyme, I had heard it was a quirky film with a ridiculous revelation, but I managed to resist spoiling myself on what it was. I won’t give it away here, but I will say… yes, it was rather ridiculous and a bit out of left field.
Before that particular scene, however, I had been enjoying Wild Mountain Thyme well enough, mostly because I’m a fan of Emily Blunt, and hearing Christopher Walken with an Irish accent was pretty dang entertaining. I don’t think I hear enough Irish accents in the wild, so I don’t know how accurate Blunt and Dornan’s accents were (both are British), but they sounded lovely enough, if a bit thick at times.
While I am a sucker for love stories (duh), and I have a soft spot for unrequited love, I have to admit that after a while, Rosemary and Anthony’s constant inability to communicate grew extremely frustrating. The entire movie consists of the two coming thisclose to being honest with one another but never getting over the hump. And it works for a while, but at some point, it just feels redundant.
It’s a slow-burn romance; when I say slow, I mean sloooooow. On the plus side, Emily Blunt and Jamie Dornan are both very good-looking and have enough chemistry to keep me invested despite these minor annoyances.
Wild Mountain Thyme is not a great movie, but it’s good enough to watch at least once. The Irish countryside is breathtakingly gorgeous, and perhaps if you sit down and expect an absurdist romantic dramedy, you may enjoy it more than I did. Maybe you’ll even find the, uh, twist at the end to be more whimsical than silly. If so, please come back here and let me know!
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