A ghost story which takes place on the Irish coast has potential for some beautiful and eerie moments, moments which Conor McPherson’s The Eclipse uses but not to full effect – or is it?

Ciarán Hinds stars as Michael, a single father who volunteers as a driver for the local writers’ festival. The festival brings to town Lena, an acclaimed horror writer (played by the beautiful Iben Hjejle) and Nicholas (Aidan Quinn), a very successful and full of himself American author who had a night with Lena at a previous event. He wants to rekindle the flame, she’s not interested and becomes involved, a little reluctantly, with the widower who in the beginning only seems interested in her because of her writings on ghosts. You see, Michael has started to see the ghost of his not-yet-dead father-in-law. Is it a warning of something to come? Michael isn’t sure but he’s hoping Lena will help him find out.

Though the catalogue sold The Eclipse as a sort of thriller, I found it less that and more of a relationship triangle with the occasional ghost popping in. McPherson smartly introduces the ghost early on in the story but then puts it aside to develop the relationship and it’s the looming idea of the ghost, along with the film’s superbly mastered score, which builds the suspense. The scares themselves are effective mostly because they’re unexpected and work as jump scares rather than anything long lasting. The film’s most haunting scene which takes place in a church is the most effective of all but it’s all too fleeting, coming and going with the blink of an eye; it would have been nice to see more scenes like that one.

Hinds is excellent as a reluctant hero, a straight forward sort of man who “saves the day” only by happenstance, while Aidan Quinn plays the asshat American to perfection. I found Iben’s performance good but her character is given little to do and though her performance is solid, it’s far from memorable.

On the one hand, McPherson’s film is wonderful in that it manages to provide a mood that is wholly unexpected from a romantic drama but on the other, it’s not enough of a ghost story to truly satisfy those looking for a thriller and hence the film’s problem: it’s not quite clear what it is and that will either work to the film’s benefit or detriment. That’s not to say that The Eclipse is not worth a look. On the contrary, it’s one that is recommended but be forewarned: it will likely surprise.

See VIFF screening schedule for show times.