Author, playwright and socialite Edna O’Brien reflects upon her life and career with astounding candidacy in Sinéad O’Shea’s documentary. Defying Ireland’s patriarchal, religious constraints with her sexually frank debut novel, The Country Girls, she became a literary sensation. Vilified in Ireland and escaping an abusive husband, O’Brien was empowered and prolific, a taboo breaker who made a fortune and lost one.

Filmmaker Sinéad O’Shea (Pray for our Sinners) brings us Edna O’Brien, as she reflects upon her life and career with astounding candidacy.

Completed shortly before her death last year, Blue Road features extracts from O’Brien’s journals (read by Jessie Buckley); contributions from, among others, Gabriel Byrne and Anne Enright; and a remarkable final interview with Edna, aged 93, as she reflects with dignity and candour on her extraordinary life.

“All in all, this portrayal of one woman’s life, both public and private but all from a literary standpoint, is intimate, heartfelt, insightful and rewarding.”
— Aoife Fealy, Film Ireland Magazine

"★★★★The film speaks to Walter Mosley, Anne Enright and Andrew O’Hagan who talk insightfully about her work, and perhaps most touchingly of all with her sons Carlo and Sasha Gébler. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable and engaging study."
— Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

“Blending evocative archival footage, audio and new talking-head interviews, director O’Shea collages together an accessible look at a life seemingly lived to the full."
— Catherine Bray, Variety

Director: Sinéad O’Shea
98 mins | Ireland | 2024 | 12A | English

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