Reaction to Wild Mountain Thyme Film

Upforthematch

Paddywhackery at its finest in case you have missed the trailer....

I've enjoyed the piss-takes, the twitter storm and the lift this film trailer gave the country this week!

However, I think some of the reaction reveals a country still ill at ease with some of its cultural origins and wrapped up in post-colonial self-loathing.

People might give out about the 'mid-atlantic' accent many teenagers have today but it sounds like many would prefer this situation than anything remotely near the accents in this film!

Listen to Emily Blunt in the trailer - her words "it was he that kissed me" etc... are a direct translation from Irish, her accent reminds me of Charlene McKenna in Pure Mule (which was itself a bad accent but anyway...).

Those D and R sounds that might make English speakers cringe are found in the Irish language.

When lots of Irish people (including native Irish speakers) emigrated over a century ago, they brought those turns of phrase and sounds with them as they transferred to the English language. If we find it funny or embarrassing to be associated with these accents in a film now, imagine how those people felt getting that reaction to their faces then? I don't think we have a cultural consciousness of the often bitter experiences of people who had Irish as their only language abroad.

This film is part of a long chain in the "Oirish" genre and I think these films act as a mirror to those of us in Ireland who prefer to look in another direction.

I think we need to own this genre and be as proud of it as anything else Irish.

Let's be proud of it by enjoying the banter and mocking but let's be careful also not to cross the line where we perpetuate a cultural stockholm syndrome.

We should be beyond the times where being Irish and being an Irish speaker was a source of shame and embarrassment.

whisky_galore

It's about as authentically Irish as Emily in Paris relates to reality in Paris.

Man with broke phone

There is a modern movie advertising tactic that involves the internet lighting up about a film which in real life nobody is thinking worthy of mention.

Uncut Gems had people in the internet vehemently championing it, healines told how people are calling for oscars for Sandler, then a few weeks after its release it went like real life where anybody that seen it thought it was average, not worthy of mention.

This film is a hallmark type film with probably a few laughs and giggles for grannies and kids. People will watch it because of the internet hype and leave thinking it was average and barely worth a mention.

This is how they sell films in the time of netflix and streaming.

BPKS

Most of the Irish people I heard on the radio giving out about the accents in that film sounded like they grew up in loike California.

And every, sentence they spoke, their tone went up at the end of it. Loike.

It was totes amazeballs.

Hangdogroad

Its supposed to be set in Mullingar?

Navel-gazing to the extreme, because of COVID the news has narrowed socially culturally, and politically in Ireland, only for the US election, there would be very little international news.

The means the little bit of 'news' that is not COVID-related is gets magnified out of all proportions.

biko

Is there a link to these criticisms?

tylercheribini

The film makers are having the last laugh, you couldn't buy the ridiculous publicity its receiving. Its a film designed for the plastic paddy market in the U. S and will no doubt deliver a financial return, move along.

NIMAN

biko wrote: »

Is there a link to these criticisms?

I have heard it discusses on these rte radio shows this last week

Ryan Tubridy Show
Morning Ireland
Ray Darcy show
Claire Byrne Show
Brendan O'Connor Show

And The Last Word on Today fm.

And that's only ones I heard. I have no doubt it made it on to many many others, and tv discussions as well. I'd bet the mortgage that it was also on Dermot and Dave, Zamperelli Show, Mairead Ronan, and the show Daithi does on tv.

It's been wall to wall .

KevRossi

The accents are poor, it's a cliched type of accent that you'd expect an actor to do better on. The equivalent of someone being asked to do a normal accent of a Londoner and them coming out with a chirpy cockney/Artful Dodger mix. Nobody in London speaks like that so you should be allowed to expect better. Same goes for this film.

If you want a good Irish accent then try Daisy Edgar-Jones in Normal People or better still, Steve Coogan.

tylercheribini

If Dornan stuck with his real Nordy accent it would be rejected by American audiences as 'inauthentic.'

Upforthematch

biko wrote: »

Is there a link to these criticisms?

Radio shows mostly. Have a look at the comments in the youtube clip if you want a sample.

ohnonotgmail

biko wrote: »

Is there a link to these criticisms?

mainly people slagging off the accents.

biko

https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/13/wild-mountain-thyme-film-slammed-over-irish-accents-and-cliches

Euronews spoke to Brian Lloyd, movie editor at Entertainment.ie, who said: "Wild Mountain Thyme was not necessarily insulting, but surely we've moved from these cliches and contrived ideas about national stereotypes?

Lloyd said the film's actors should consider apologising to the people of Ireland.

Jaysus, such contrived nonsense is news these days? Lloyd needs to get laid. In fact euronews needs to get laid.

cannotlogin

I don't want to spoil the ending but surely they meet a leprechaun and buy the farm with his pot of gold?

The accents, especially Jamie Dornan's are brutal.

When it is set? She's talking about freezing her eggs but it looks like it's based in the 1950s.

More importantly, where I can watch this? Might be so bad, that it's good.

tonycascarino

This film is going to be the next PS I Love you which yanks will love and will get huge viewing figures. Hollywood selling anything Ireland related is all good as far as I am concerned, crappy accents or not.

FTA69

The Irish accent is very hard to do convincingly to be fair. That having been said the film looks like a load of laughably patronising muck.

And for the OP saying we shouldn’t be ashamed of Irish and Ireland etc, I agree. But this is a poor representation of both, it’s a hackneyed Yank cliched interpretation far removed from reality.

Conall Cernach

It doesn't look too bad but I suspect that it will be something that turns up at 3 in the afternoon on Channel 5 like those Hallmark films.

Incidentally the Irish film industry should churn out those Hallmark type films for St. Patrick's Day, Valentine's and Christmas. The Yanks would eat them up.

Hamsterchops

Paddywhackery at its finest to be sure to be sure and whatever you're havin yourself be'gurrahh. Top o'the mornin to ya be jasus, Paddy's donkey and the way he might look at ya da mornin after

Harmless fun, tis a fine ting & the jugs on her would leave Father Ignatius beating himself off wit me ma's flannel. I'm after lovin it sez she.