This Is the Sea

REVIEW
A sweet, but fated romance between the Protestant Hazel (Morton) and the Catholic Malachy (McDade) is the centerpiece of this otherwise toothless drama about the 1994 cease fire in Belfast. Writer-director McGuckian strives for melodrama, but the intriguing subplot about a car bombing that implicates the lovers and their families is underwhelming. The Irish countryside is quite beautiful, but the film's lack of tension keeps This Is the Sea from being anything truly special. Morton, who was remarkable in Under the Skin, gives another sterling performance, while McDade is winning as her suitor.