I have always admired the style that John Sayles uses in making his films and this one is no exception. The movie is based on Irish stories of seals and the dark women and how one family grew up on Roan Inish. I did not get the chance to see this film in the theater , however, I saw it on cable and then purchased the tape. What an excellent film. As usual, John Sayles flushes out the very human qualities of his character. I felt pained for Fiona in that she lost her mother so young and her father was having a very hard time raising her on his own. You could almost see the sweetness of her grandparents . The grandfather with his excellent story telling abilities retelling stories to Fiona of family history. The grandmothers run of the house. I just really loved the story and the characters that were present. The movie contains many of the human elements that I have seen in all of John Sayles films that I have viewed. He has this great ability to flush out very human elements in his character. This particular film tugged at me because of my Irish heritage, but I think anyone could enjoy it.