Wild Mountain Thyme

Story

Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt) is head over heels in love with her neighbour in rural Ireland, Anthony Reilly (Jamie Dornan). In fact, she has loved him since they were children. Despite Rosemary’s obvious affection, Anthony is clueless about how she feels. Things get even more complicated when Anthony’s ailing father (Christopher Walken) toys with the idea of selling his farm to his American nephew, Adam (John Hamm), instead of passing it onto his own son.

When Adam visits Ireland, he’s captivated by Rosemary. This is because Rosemary is unlike any woman Adam has ever met – she’s unimpressed by cars or money and determined to follow her heart even though it leads to a man who barely knows she exists.

It isn’t until Adam expresses his interest in Rosemary that Anthony finally begins to see what he has and what he stands to lose. Anthony is unable to fight for what he wants, so Rosemary must make him see the possibility of a future, help him share his darkest fears and show him that he’s so much more than he believes himself to be.

Themes

Unrequited love; death (specifically of a parent); grief; foundations for marriage; facing your fears

Violence

Wild Mountain Thyme has some violence. For example:

Rosemary’s father shoots crows.
Rosemary pushes Anthony hard against a wall and jokingly threatens to shoot him with her father’s gun.
Rosemary briefly talks about suicide by hanging or shooting.

Sexual references

Wild Mountain Thyme has some sexual references. For example:

After hearing how Anthony talks about his life, Rosemary says, ‘When he says those things, I know I must have him’.
A woman confesses to Anthony that she twice slept with a priest in her mother’s bed.
A man spreads a rumour that Anthony is in love with a donkey.
Rosemary asks Anthony whether he’s gay.
Rosemary asks Anthony whether he has ever seen her naked in his mind. She then asks whether he’s a virgin.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Wild Mountain Thyme shows some use of substances. For example:

Rosemary admits to being a smoker. She smokes cigarettes several times, as well as her father’s pipe after his funeral.
People drink alcohol on various occasions, including at an adult’s birthday picnic and in a restaurant. Rosemary offers Anthony a Guinness at her home.
Anthony and a woman share a drink called an Orange Blossom in a bar. A short time later they’re shown on the outskirts of a cemetery and both seem to be drunk.

Nudity and sexual activity

Wild Mountain Thyme has some nudity and sexual activity. For example:

Adam and Rosemary kiss each other in New York.
Anthony and Rosemary share a tender embrace and several kisses towards the end of the movie.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in Wild Mountain Thyme: Aer Lingus planes.

Coarse language

Wild Mountain Thyme has some infrequent coarse language, including ‘bastard’, ‘damn’, ‘mother of Christ’, ‘duff’, ‘hell’ and ‘shite’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Wild Mountain Thyme is a romantic drama based on a play called Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley. The cinematography showcases the beauty of rural Ireland, but the accents and dialogue sometimes come across as stilted and strange.

This movie is best suited to older teenage and adult audiences.

The main messages from Wild Mountain Thyme are to fight for what you want and to never give up on destiny and what you know in your heart to be true.

Values in Wild Mountain Thyme that you could reinforce with your children include persistence, loyalty, compassion, strength, resourcefulness and patience.

Wild Mountain Thyme could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like:

mental illness including depression, and the support people need to get through tough times
grief and the importance of allowing people to grieve in their own ways
suicide and its consequences.
romantic love and the consequences of pinning your hopes of happiness to someone who can’t seem to see you for who you are
gender stereotypes and their potential to limit what people can be, although Rosemary shows that she’s as good a farmer as any man, despite what some men in her village think.