The movie follows the story of a psychiatrist (Eric Bana) who started examining Roseanne MacNulty (Vanessa Redgrave), an elderly Irish woman who lives in a mental institution. Over time, Erik finds herself on a mission when she learns more about her past in the process. Now, Ronnie Mara plays McNulty as a young woman, in memories of a beautiful past with fighter pilot (Jack Raynor) and priest (Theo James).
It doesn't take too long for Jim Sheridan's period romance "The Secret Scripture" to contort itself into a befuddlingly bungled mess. But at the outset, it seems to have everything going for it.
Mara ensures that we feel for Rose, and James is surprisingly effective as the man who ruins Rose's life, but The Secret Scripture isn't as moving or intriguing as it should be.
Disjointed and disinterested in entertaining any and all prospective viewers, the overlong slab of melodrama is one of the most vanilla experiences at the movies in quite some time.
The overall power of the story is female suppression across the ages that really hits home - subtly interwoven, but accompanied by that unsavoury feel of demonising the independent screen female again.
Jim Sheridan's first Irish movie since The Boxer has trouble unpicking its mysteries, opting for a romantic soap that sees Rooney Mara's heroine face ostracism after falling for Jack Reynor's RAF pilot in '40s Sligo.
