Saoirse Una Ronan was born in the Bronx to Irish parents, Monica (née Brennan) and Paul Ronan, an actor. When she was three, the family moved back to Dublin.
Death Defying Acts (Gillian Armstrong, 2007) Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce (as Harry Houdini), Timothy Spall, Saiorse Ronan
The Lovely Bones (Peter Jackson, 2009)
Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) Saoirse Ronan, Emory Cohen, Domhnall Gleeson
Such a simple, pleasant story. This is my favourite kind of story, the family drama, and this is an outstanding example of the genre.
Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017) prod. Eli Bush, Evelyn O’Neill, Scott Rudin; Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts; won Best Motion Picture (Musical/Comedy) Golden Globes 2018; nomination for Best Actress Oscar: Saoirse Ronan; 5 nominations
A pleasant domestic story, so in that sense not completely unlike Brooklyn, one difference being that Ronan does this one with a Californian accent, whereas in the other she drew on her genealogical background to play someone from Ireland. I didn't believe for more than a moment that she was 17 (she was about 22), but it didn't impede plausibility generally. This young lady has far to go. She won't win the Oscar because Frances McDormand and Sally Hawkins are in the queue ahead of her, but she may if she gets the right part later.
On Chesil Beach (Dominic Cooke, 2017) Saoirse Ronan, Billy Howle
The Seagull (2018)
Mary Queen of Scots (2018)
Little Women (Greta Gerwig, 2019) wr. Greta Gerwig, dp Yorick Le Saux, music Alexandre Desplat; Saiorse Ronan, Emma Watson, Timothée Chalamet, Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Jayne Houdyshell, Eliza Scanlen, Florence Pugh
Sentimental girly stuff. Saiorse Ronan is excellent as usual, and Laura Dern impresssed me by actually playing the role without any of her quirky mannerisms. Florence Pugh is in a different film, playing a 21C girl, and I'm surprised that people thought she was good. She's not even good-looking.
Gerwig takes the writing credit for buggering up the time sequence. She would have assumed that everyone knows the story well enough to make the necessary adjustments in their minds, and so can pretend to be an 'auteur' on this flimsy basis.
The time passed.
Ammonite (2020)
See How They Run (2022)
Foe (Garth Davis, 2023) wr. Garth Davis, Iain Reid (novel), prod. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning et al., Amazon Studios; Saoirse Ronan, Paul Mescal, Aaron Pierre; Victoria: Docklands, Winton Wetlands etc.
Anne Billson, Guardian, 19 October 2023, 'Saorise Ronan's 10 best performances ranked': 1. Brooklyn, Little Women, Grand Budapest Hotel, Lady Bird, Hanna, Byzantium, Atonement, See How They Run, Ammonite, I Could Never Be Your Woman.
reviews | Garry Gillard | New: 12 March, 2020 | Now: 21 October, 2023