It seems fitting to have been assigned this one to review: a film adaptation of John McGahern’s novel of the same name. John McGahern is one of my favorite authors – I’ve written a lot about him – his Amongst Women is one of my favorite books of all time. McGahern connects me to my father: he’s the one who told me to read him. That They May Face the Rising Sun is McGahern’s final novel, about a small group of elderly people living on the edge of a lake in County Leitrim (where McGahern himself lived). It’s a “quiet” novel but it flattens you. I found a piece I wrote about it back in 2008. My father was still alive then. Hearing present tense mentioning of my dad makes me catch my breath. I wrote about the book when I finished reading it in 2007 and my dad commented on the post. I trip over his old comments occasionally and it’s such an eerie yet beautiful feeling. He called me “dearest”.
I loved this film. At a certain point, about 20 minutes from the end, tears started pouring down my face and … kept going until the credits rolled. I reviewed for Ebert.
