Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Far and Away is an excellent period epic detailing the struggles of a poor Irish immigrant in Ireland and America. Released in 1992 to mixed reviews, many feel this is director Ron Howard’s ode to his Irish heritage and roots. Far and Away showcases Tom Cruise’s and Nicole Kidman’s second onscreen collaboration (first being Days of Thunder), and their onscreen chemistry help support the films storyline. Far and Away opens up to Joseph Donnelly (Tom Cruise), an Irish tenant farmer and his battles with his rich landowner after his father’s death over unpaid rent. A powerful scene takes place within the first 10 minutes which shows Joseph Donnelly and his brother carrying their father coffin while the rich landowners burn there house in the background for unpaid rent. For revenge Joseph sought to kill the rich landowner, but ran into his daughter Shannon played by Nicole Kidman. Upon entering the rich Landowners estate, Ron Howard really conveyed the differences between the Irish economic classes. Joseph Donnelly lived of merger means on a small, poorly constructed farmhouse living hand to mouth. The rich landowners lived in a polar opposite of Joseph, a massive estat