The Secret Scripture (2017)

The Secret Scripture is the kind of old-fashioned, big-hearted romantic drama that isn’t afraid of grand emotion, moral fury, and the ache of a life misunderstood—then it anchors all that sweep in two remarkable performances. Jim Sheridan gives the story a handsome, windswept Irish glow, while Rooney Mara brings a fierce, luminous vulnerability to young Roseanne and Vanessa Redgrave turns her older self into something quietly indelible, a woman whose dignity survives the unthinkable. The film moves with the rhythm of a remembered life—tender, bruising, and sometimes melodramatic in the way passionate stories can be—yet it keeps pulling you forward on pure feeling and craft. If you prefer subtle, minimalist dramas you may find it a touch operatic, but if you’re in the mood for romance with bite and a mystery of the heart, it’s deeply worth the trip.

The Secret Scripture is clearly aiming for a sweeping, tragic Irish romance that doubles as an indictment of institutional cruelty, and you can feel Jim Sheridan reaching for big, bruised emotions. The problem is it often plays like glossy melodrama: the plotting leans on coincidences and familiar “persecuted heroine” beats, and the political and religious context gets simplified into broad strokes rather than lived-in nuance. Rooney Mara and Vanessa Redgrave bring real commitment and dignity, and the period atmosphere is handsome, but the film can feel more like it’s telling you what to feel than earning it. If you’re sensitive to sentimentality or want a subtler, more complex take on trauma and history, this may frustrate you; if you’re in the mood for an old-fashioned tearjerker with strong performances, it might still land.