The Eclipse is an effective ghost story, one that probably would not take with today’s horror crowd due to its lack of blood and guts in addition to its languid pace. Set in a small coastal Irish town, Michael (Ciaran Hinds) is a recently widowed father of two children and volunteers at the local literary festival. Having been experiencing visions of his dead wife and his near dead father-in-law, he meets Lena (Iben Hjejle), author of the supernatural, and begins to ask for her input. Soon they are attracted to one another. Into the mix comes Nicholas (Aidan Quinn), a successful and smug American author who has had a past fling with Lena and is married. He wants to rekindle their relationship while she knows it was a mistake. This triangle will lead down inevitable roads while the supernatural begins to take a hold of Michael’s life. The Eclipse isn’t afraid of taking its time to develop characters and relish in its lush Irish surroundings. Although I found the ghost story effective, I thought that the film was paced too slow for all the elements to blend together entirely. Still, we are left with an effective ghost story and nice tale of a love triangle in small Irish town.
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