A young Irishwoman, Cass (Sarah Miles), escapes from an arid marriage to her doctor husband Matthew (Julian Glover) in London and returns to her fishing-port home of Lahinch in the West of Ireland. Little has changed in Lahinch, and Cass soon encounters Colin (Sean Caffrey), her old sweetheart who failed to follow her when she left for London years before. When Matthew turns up in Lahinch, however, it seems Cass’s attempts to capture her past and her old love will prove more difficult than she thought.
I Was Happy Here was scripted by Edna O’Brien from her own short story, ‘A Woman by the Seaside’, and was directed by Desmond Davis (who also adapted O’Brien’s The Girl With Green Eyes and The Country Girls for the big screen). Irish regulars Cyril Cusack and Marie Kean both provide striking cameos as the hotel proprietor and the barmaid. The County Clare locations are beautiful, and the overall tone of melancholy and romanticism should suit those seeking a Valentine’s Day movie with a distinctly (arch) Irish flavour.
U.K., 1966. Black and white. 91 mins.