Closing the Ring

Closing the Ring

Cast: Shirley MacLaine, Mischa Barton, Pete Postlethwaite, Brenda Fricker, Christopher Plummer, Neve Campbell
Director: Richard Attenborough
Genre: Drama, Romance
Rated: MRunning Time: 118 minutes

Synopsis: Lord Richard Attenborough, one of the world's most respected filmmakers (Ghandi, Chaplin,Shadowlands), helms a deeply moving love story, beautifully interwoven between World War 2 and the present. Inspired by true events and spanning fifty years, Closing the Ring tells the story of how an American woman honoured a wartime promise with a lifetime of denial - and how the discovery of a gold ring brought her back to life.

In 1991, a small American town quietly mourns the loss of Chuck Harris: father, husband and honoured veteran of the Second World War. His wife, Ethel (Shirley MacLaine), refuses to mourn, drowning herself in alcohol and neglecting her daughter, Marie. But when Marie receives a curious phone call from a boy in Northern Ireland who claims to have discovered a ring belonging to Ethel, an incendiary chain of events is ignited. As its narrative travels backward into the wartime past, Closing the Ring collects the pieces of a truly profound puzzle one by one Attenborough traces multiple themes with ease and grace, giving his celebrated ensemble cast - including "It Girl" Mischa Barton and six-time Academy Award nominee Shirley MacLaine - ample opportunity to shine. Brenda Fricker stands out as a former wartime vamp, Christopher Plummer emits an incomparable charm as Jack, Chuck's lifelong friend, and additional stand out support comes from Pete Postlethwaite and Neve Campbell.

Closing the Ring is a remarkable tale of love, loss and redemption that stands proudly among the films of one of the cinema's living legends. Deftly weaving together different eras and locales, Attenborough has produced another grand canvas about the emotional repercussions of a wartime promise and the ability to find happiness when it all seems lost.

At the age of 84, Lord Attenborough refuses to contemplate retirement, continuing to expand an extensive cinematic legacy as an actor, producer and director and Closing the Ring looks set to follow in the footsteps of epic romances like The English Patient and The Notebook.

Release Date: 28th February, 2007