Howard (James Cosmo), a retired sea captain, and his daughter, Grace (Catherine Walker), don’t have the strongest relationship. They’ve been at odds with one another for years, and they are still struggling to see eye to eye. When Howard meets his new housekeeper Annie (Bríd Brennan), their relationship becomes even more strained. My Sailor, My Love is the story of the unlikely romance between Howard and Annie and Grace’s struggle to deal with it.
My Sailor, My Love begins like any other romantic film that you’ve seen before. A woman in distress, a man that’s down on his luck–and somehow love blossoms out of nowhere. There’s a bit of a twist in there, but that’s the gist of the opening act of the film. There’s nothing too spectacular about the film in the opening thirty minutes or so, but the film keeps its head above water, and it does a great job of allowing viewers access to both Annie and Howard at the start. My Sailor, My Love tells us enough about them in the early going to allow us to understand and appreciate them–and from there the characters only get better.
Both Howard and Annie are lovely characters, but Grace–she’s an entirely different story. I think she’s actually a well-written character, because she is effectively the film’s antagonist. She’s agonizing, frustrating, and just downright annoying. While I think she is a great juxtaposition to Annie and Howard, there are times when I believe that Writers Jimmy Karlsson and Kirsi Vickman take the character a tad too far. She becomes overwhelming at times throughout My Sailor, My Love, and she chews up scenery and steals from the more important characters in the film. She’s an important character for sure, but to allow her to overshadow others isn’t a smart move.
I feel like the one thing that romance films are often missing is a genuine and effective delivery of emotion. My Sailor, My Love doesn’t have an issue with this, however. Most of the emotion, in my opinion, rests on the shoulders of Cosmo–the least likely individual to have to deliver in this regard. Viewers expect emotion from female characters, and they expect it from younger characters, but I feel as if it’s the male characters that are often the ones able to connect with viewers in this regard, and Howard does that here. He’s meant to be the burly manly-man type–he’s not supposed to be the one who gets upset, but he’s ultimately the one that is meant to bridge the emotional gap between viewer and My Sailor, My Love. He’s nothing short of brilliant, and he delivers every step of the way.
It’s rare that a film driven almost entirely by romance can appeal to me, that it can actually make me think back to my viewing session and appreciate the time spent. My Sailor, My Love is different from the other films of this genre, and it appeals to a wider audience almost from the start. My Sailor, My Love relies heavily on the connections that viewers will be able to make with the characters on screen, and Karlsson, Vickman, and Director Klaus Härö, do a spectacular job of making sure that these characters resonate with viewers. My Sailor, My Love works in ways that a romance film isn’t usually capable–and it’s ultimately a success.
Directed by Klaus Härö.
Written by Jimmy Karlsson & Kirsi Vickman.
Starring James Cosmo, Bríd Brennan, Catherine Walker, Nora-Jane Noone, Aidan O’Hare, Bob Kelly, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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