Set in the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, the movie tells the story of a teacher's (Robert Mitchum) wife (Sarah Miles) who has an affair with a troubled British soldier (Christopher Jones).
Those who were jealous of [Lean's] previous successes decried the film as an utter failure, though of course it is not, it just isn't quite as good as his other movies.
Movie Metropolis
January 30, 2006
Ryan's Daughter takes far too long to say much too little.
Arguably David Lean's weakest film, this lushly photographed (it won Oscar for Freddie Young) period Irish romance is rambling and pointless, and feels like an occasion for Sarah Miles (then married to writer Bolt) to show off her beautiful body.
An awe-inspiringly tedious lump of soggy romanticism.
Film Threat
February 15, 2006
If you are looking for a breath of fresh Eire, you are in the wrong movie.
Chicago Reader
January 01, 2000
It's insanely overproduced in Lean's standard epic style, yet somehow the crazy mismatches in scale contribute to the film's sense of romantic delirium.
Lean's depiction of provincial Ireland during the unrest of 1916 may suffer a little from its rather worthy romanticism, but this does not dilute its powerful, epic vision.
Overlength of perhaps 30 minutes serves to magnify some weaknesses of Robert Bolt's original screenplay, to dissipate the impact of the performances, and to overwhelm outstanding photography and production.
