Closing the Ring
During the 1940s, a group of young men go off to war, leaving behind Ethel Ann, who is in love with one of them, Teddy. In modern-day Belfast, a man named Jimmy endeavors to return a ring found in the wreckage of a crashed plane. He travels to Michigan, where the grown Ethel Ann, who married another man after Teddy was killed in battle, now lives. Ethel Ann must decide whether to go with Jimmy to meet the soldier who last saw Teddy alive.
Director(s)
Layke Anderson
Richard Attenborough
Michael Stevenson
Where to watch
Plex
Free
Plex Channel
Free
Cast & crew
Christopher Plummer
Jack
Allan Gildea
First Policeman
Sean McGinley
Campbell
Ian McElhinney
Cathal Thomas
Michael Stevenson
-
Pete Postlethwaite
Quinlan
Marie Jones
Mrs. Dyole
John Kavanagh
Reverend Smith
Neve Campbell
Marie
Alex Palmer
Lt. Jones
Gerry Quigley
Barman
Mischa Barton
Young Ethel Ann
Shirley MacLaine
Ethel Ann
Dylan Roberts
Wilbur
Chris Benson
Local Sheriff
Allan Hawco
Peter Etty
Richard Attenborough
-
Martin McCann
Jimmy
Brenda Fricker
Eleanor
David Alpay
Chuck
Ian Beattie
Seamus McCarty
B.J. Hogg
Maguigan
Stephen Amell
Teddy Gordon
Gregory Smith
Young Jack
John Travers
Young Quinlan
Gene Dinovi
Weeping Veteran
George Shane
Maginty
Kirsty Stuart
Young Eleanor
Alec McClure
Co-Pilot
Susie Kelly
Second Woman in Rain
Steve Franks
Bugler
Karen Lewis
Mrs. Dean
Anthony Finigan
Mr. Cobb
Martin Reid
Father Ignatius
Sidney Dodsworth
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Derek Halligan
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Maureen Dow
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Rosina Brown
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Michael Magee
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Claire Lamont
Shelterer from the Air Raid
Mathew McElhinney
Young Cathal
James Millard
Lt. Wilkins
Bill Lynn
Truck Driver
Olivia Nash
First Woman in Rain
Alan McKee
Dougal
Tom Maguire
Billy
Darryl Flatman
Pilot
Paul Dunn
Co-Pilot
Kieran Gallant
Navigator
Layke Anderson
Army Corporal
Paul Charlton
Army Private
Stephen Don
Second Policeman
Tom Collins
Fireman Fergus
Harry Dickson
Taxi Driver
Kerry-Lee Finkle
Waitress
Stephen Harland
Resident
Details
Reviews
CinemaSerf
Richard Attenborough has assembled a good cast for this nostalgic wartime drama. In a troubles-torn Belfast, the young Wilbur (Dylan Roberts) finds a ring in a burnt out aircraft left over from WWII. His search for the owner leads him to Shirley MacLaine's "Ethel Ann", and our story slowly reveals, via a mix of current and retrospective scenarios, just what happened when and to whom. The beginning is a bit disjointed, the chopping and changing of timeframes and characters happens too soon after the film starts without us having quite enough information to follow the story easily, but once that settles down and the role of Christopher Plummer ("Jack") becomes clearer, this makes for an engaging story of loves lost and bravery. It also doesn't ignore the fact that bombs continued to fall in Belfast for some years after the end of the War too. It's a simple vehicle for the two stars, that isn't the most plausible of stories, but it has a gentle warmth that just about carries it off.