Circle of Friends

Peter McGinn

Circle of Friends is a little feel good sort of movie. The ensemble characters interact quite well. I have always liked Minnie Driver, and Alan Cummings seems to nail the smarmy characters like this. I think he was in a Jane Austen adaptation film with a similar role. The film is based on one of the best Maeve Binchy novels, in my opinion. It concerns Bennie, Driver’s character, who has a self-esteem problem based partly on her weight and unpopularity. But she stands up for herself when she has to, and makes friends. She overcomes problems I won’t go into and risk giving details away, but suffice to say you should really end up rooting for her. My only problem with the movie is the ending. I felt the book had the perfect ending, and the movie went a different way. Don’t get me wrong; if I hadn’t read the book, I am sure I would have been a-okay with the movie ending. I just thought the book nailed it. But movies and books have different story arcs sometimes, and it wouldn’t stop me from watching Circle of Friends again if the opportunity comes along. You be sure to also, because as near as I can see, it can be hard to find it streaming nowadays.