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Wonderful character development!

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Although this movie lacked any sort of plot, and was forever flitting from one insignificant scene to the next, I was willing to watch it because of the fine acting performance by Minnie Driver and that there seemed to be a story shaping-up between her character and that of Chris O'Donnell's. When he left Bene sitting for almost the entire time of his party, opting to dance with her glamorous friend, instead, I should have been warned.When this cad (Jack) actually tried and succeeded in getting Bene to dance as she was about to leave, I should have realized the black nature of this script and screenplay. When Jack has coitus with the glamorous friend (played by Saffron Burroughs) and gets her pregnant (he is told), he decides to tell Bene, whom he has, by then, some real affection for. As he is getting off the bus or trolley to meet her, tell her and break her heart, I turned the movie off and threw it out. A film really has to offend me for me to score fewer than 7 stars. No real plot and an apparent delight in hurting those vulnerable means a cinematic failure to me, even with Minnie Driver's memorable character and performance. The fact that Circle of Friends was based on a novel is no excuse. Another one should have been used. A fresh and compelling screenplay could have been developed, loosely using the characters of Bene and Jack. Certainly, this movie was talent wasted.

As a general rule, I am picky about adaptations of books on the big screen, but there is much to love about this version of Maeve Binchy's excellent novel. I loved the book from the first time I read it, and was delighted to find a film version to rent. The cast are really very good and the movie is well-written and directed. Minnie Driver is wonderful as Benny, with Chris O'Donnell portraying a slightly more sympathetic Jack than the selfish young man in the novel, and excellent support from Geraldine O'Rawe, Saffron Burrows, Alan Cumming and Colin Firth (getting to play a cad rather than the hero for a change).There are, of course, some major differences from the novel but nonetheless the film works, in and of itself, and it is still extremely enjoyable. I can accept that for a Hollywood movie, a more conclusive ending was required than that provided by Binchy in the book, and it was made believable by the chemistry between Driver and O'Donnell in the last few scenes.I would agree that the sexual life of savages would be an unlikely subject for first year students in 1950s Ireland, but I like Ciaran Hinds as the lecturer, so I'll let it go...I also would have liked to see more of Binchy's supporting cast make it into the movie - Mother Francis, for example, who brought up Eve, or some of the other friends outside of the college group such as Clodagh or Fonzie. Obviously a film has limitations that do not hinder an author, but I would also have liked there to have been more back story for Nan - just why she chooses Simon, for example. And I could always use more interaction between Eve and Aidan, whose scenes in the book are richly comic and translate very well onto the screen.Despite my quibbles, I have always liked this film, and I would recommend it to most people, whether they have read the book or not, for its entertainment value.

As much as I like Colin Firth ever since his portrayal in the A&E production of "Pride and Prejudice," "What a Girl Wants," and "Master of the Moor," I have to say that this movie was totally monotonous, dreary and tedious.A dull and boring and uninspired movie about girls in 1950's Ireland trying to find their womanhood through their drawers and the drawers of the men they are involved in.I had seen this movie before my interest in Firth's career and found the characters implausible and improbable. All the characters were unbelievable except perhaps the "Uriah Heep" of the movie played by Aidan Gillen which oiled up the screen really good and made you cringe with revulsion with his attack.No real conclusions of the movie except that Bernadette 'Benny' Hogan (Minnie Driver) decided to give sex a try.A real inspiring yawn . . .

To answer the question about where both Chris O'Donnel and Minnie Driver are. Both have been working over the past few years putting out movies. They may not have been blockbuster films and why you may not have heard anything. Also, both are in production on movies this year in 2005.Next time just look them up on this site and you would have your answer.I have to say, I loved this film. It introduced me to Ms. Driver and I have been following her career ever since. I think she is under-rated as an actress.