Delicious. Perhaps I’m biased seeing as this film has followed me from my childhood but who wouldn’t watch the beautiful scenery of that Irish countryside and wish, even for a moment, that they could be Anna Brady (played by the gorgeous Amy Adams) traipsing through it with the stubborn Irishman Declan O’Callaghan (played by the wonderful Matthew Goode), and a Louis Vuitton suitcase to boot!
This film is the perfect rom-com recipe; the protagonist is living her presumed perfect life, sure she knows exactly what she wants from it, suddenly she finds herself thrust into a circumstance she would never’ve expected, but of course finds exactly what it is she’s always been hoping for. Filled with iconic moments from start to finish, characters that are hard to forget and equally impossible not to love, to say nothing of the landscape, which speaks for itself as well as for our protagonist.
Moments after pressing play the opening scenes play to Nat King Cole’s ‘More and More of Your Amor’ and the metaphorical curtains open. Not only is this track just an absolute classic and the sort you can’t help but shimmy to, but the use of it is already indicative of where we find our protagonist, Amy, by the mere title of the piece. The fast-paced jigsaw scenes waste no time in demonstrating what she does, where she lives, what she wants, and the type of person she is; with the smallest wipe of the edge of a bar in a presumably American Irish joint. But crucially in these scenes lasting no more than a total of three minutes of screen time, although we might find Anna to be the type of person with defined taste, and a slight snobbish attitude, she is completely likeable and you can’t help but route for her already. Interestingly, although the opening scenes are set in Boston, USA, they were in fact filmed in certain areas of Dublin where the architecture mimics that of the American city.
Soon after, we are introduced to the placement of the story. Amy meets her dad (played by the hilarious John Lithgow) who proudly tells a story she has evidently heard countless times before about a relative of theirs who grew tired of waiting for her boyfriend at the time to propose so made use of an Irish tradition of a woman being able to propose on a ‘Leap Year’. Amy, of course, believing her partner to be proposing that very evening, declares she won’t need to pull an as he put it “grandma Jane”. Though of course, by the ten minute mark, we find our protagonist on a plane to Ireland to do just that.
What I think’s so brilliant about this film is that it doesn’t drag its feet. We meet our protagonist, we see where she is, we find out the plot of the whole story in such a small window. Some films feel the need to spend a mass of time on the setting of the story when ‘Leap Year’ demonstrates if you time it well, there’s no need.
Though, of course, Anna’s flight is diverted and is forced to land in Wales due to extreme in-flight turbulence. Despite the stunning impracticality of the flight landing sooner but somehow passing Dublin to go further inland to Wales, we meet the hilarious air representatives (played by the stunning Mali Harries and Sarah Hadland) Acting as a further reminder of just how stellar this cast is, whatever the role.
At last, Anna finds herself in Dingle, a small village on the West Coast of Ireland and still a way from Dublin. The scenes of the cliffs and coasts are, though, largely filmed in the Aran Islands nearer to Galway, if you’re wanting to discuss technicality. Though, I myself am happy to immerse myself in the movie magic of this predominantly fictional Irish village. She stumbles into the only place she can visibly see is open, a pub, Declan’s pub, where she is greeted by three older Irishmen; Donal, Seamus, and Jo (played by Pat Laffan, Noel O’Donovan, and Alan Devlin) Though they only really feature at the beginning and end of the movie they never fail to make you laugh, with a true Irish sense of humour.
A night’s stay involving a power outage, small earthquake, and a ‘Hang’ sandwich and the following morning Declan and Anna come to the agreement that he’ll drive her the remainder of the way to Dublin for a total of €500. And Matthew Goode’s questionable if endearing Irish accident aside, they set off. Unsurprisingly, however, they don’t get far, bickering for a total of two minutes of screen time before a thrown CD casts them out and into a herd of cows, and a ‘Cinderella-shoe-putting-on’ moment puts the red tin can of a car into a swamp.
What follows is Declan and Anna walking, simply walking through the Irish countryside which would be considered boring, or a waste of screen time if Ireland wasn’t Ireland. In fact this is one of my favourite scenes simply because of the landscape as they walk through an open valley, a lake besides, it is just breathtaking. Forgetting that the haze is soon shattered when Anna accidentally invites a van of men to steal her suitcase, her beloved ‘Louis’.
The moment in the pub when Declan chooses to confront the idiots rather than leaving her on her own is the first time we see either of them demonstrate anything other than dislike for the other. And although I’m not really a fan of any situation, film or tv, where a man walks in and saves the timid, frightened woman, I choose to see that the scenario plays more to the fact that Anna as a character is reasonably ignorant to the world of ‘street smarts’ which is why Declan feels the need to help.
“He’s a cardiologist” Every time I hear Amy Adams act those words I audibly laugh, not only at the comedy of the line, because let’s face it it is funny, but at the genius of the intonation, and for how much three words can say. The fact that Anna’s only response to Declan’s “He must be something special”, is “He is” followed by his profession; almost as though you can hear what it is she tells herself whenever she’s having doubts about their relationship, or whenever she needs to remind herself how lucky she is. So good…and Declan’s little expression- brilliant.
At the train station they decide spontaneously to climb Ballycarbery Castle (actually filmed at a place called Rock of Dunamase) to pass the time, but of course they loose track of time and both end up running back down the steep hill hoping to catch the train. No matter how many times I watch Anna running down that hill and rolling in that mud I feel for her, rain pouring, train leaving. But of course, the train conductor (played by the wonderful Tony Rohr) saves the day and brings them home to his and his wife’s idyllic if traditional B&B. So, the O’Brady-Callaghans check-in, as man and wife.
The phrase “Heads I win, Tails you lose” is genius and I will not tell you how many times I’ve successfully used it on my family and friends. I certainly do ‘not’ recommend.
I love the scene when they’re cooking together in the kitchen, it’s not long but I think it tells so much. Declan’s volunteered to cook to escape their host’s previous offer of tripe (the lining of a cow’s stomach, need I say more) and so they work together to make I think Coq au Vin. The scene’s clever because they’re simply having a laugh, no arguments, and it highlights the compatibility of their characters where before we had only seen them, well…bicker. And of course this is followed by a kiss as sitting at the dinner table their host invites each of their guests to demonstrate the right way to kiss your spouse (a somewhat strange invitation) and, bowing to peer pressure, Declan ‘kiss(es) the girl’. Then we get a classic, ‘tossing-and-turning’ scene, a ‘will-they-won’t-they-look-at-each-other’ moment, as soon as they do of course they turn over and go to sleep.
The following morning after discovering that the host had left to go to Dublin leaving them stranded again, Anna and Declan leave, get hit by a storm of hailstones and find themselves guests at a strangers wedding. They have fun, but the fun is concluded quite abruptly when Anna accidentally hits the bride in the face and then spills red wine over her clean white wedding dress. And in a beautiful cinematic moment as they both stand by a lake, the moon high in the sky, and you think they might kiss…she throws up and onto his shoes.
The following scene we watch as Anna wakes, covers Declan with his black coat, takes her suitcase, and leaves. Declan, wakes to the bench empty save for him and a bus leaving, he tries to catch it but misses it. Then the camera shows us this duality of perception, we see Anna appear with her suitcase from the coffee shop across the street and she watches Declan, realising that he believes she’s left him. With ‘Only love can break your heart’ by Neil Young playing beneath it’s the moment that I choose to believe is where Anna accepts that she does love him, or at the very least care for him and she feels like she can do that more so because she sees that he clearly does for her. The moment ends when he hears the wheels of her suitcase of the gravel behind.
So, they at last arrive in Dublin! Declan reveals to Anna that his ex-fiancee left him for his also ex-best mate and lives in Dublin, and Anna encourages him to find her and retrieve his grandmother’s ring which she apparently still has. They arrive at Jeremy’s hotel and she offers to pay him but all he want is the €1 they used to toss for the bed at the B&B. It’s evident neither of them want to part ways but bloody Jeremy arrives and then proceeds to propose. Anna finally has what she always wanted, she turns to where Declan was stood, he’s gone and she says yes.
To the sound of ‘Never Forget You’ by Noisettes we have a montage of their lives resuming. His pub is doing well and Anna and Jeremy move into ‘THE’ apartment. In a heartbreaking moment at their house-warming party, however, Jeremy reveals to Anna that he only proposed in order for them to get the apartment. You can see Anna questioning everything and so she pulls the fire alarm to discover what it is that really matters to her and she finds it’s nothing or no one nearby.
We’re back in Ireland and find Declan’s pub is now a fine-dining but low-key restaurant. Declan leaves the busy kitchen to confront a guest who’s complained about the food and he discovers that it’s Anna. Who proceeds to make a frank, honest declaration but as she waits for his response Declan just smiles and walks away.
Anna runs to the cliffs, the ocean crashing below. When of course Declan appears behind her with his mother’s ring. And with a “Will you marry me?” and a “Yes” we reach our happy ever after, and the perfect kiss as the sun sets between them.
This film is the perfect feel-good movie. Guaranteed you’ll always come away from watching it with the biggest grin on your face. It’s always one I turn to watch when I want a guaranteed happy ending and it always delivers.
What else can I say…watch it.
