Blue Road: A Cause Célèbre
Blue Road: The Edna O’Brien Story (2025)
Directed by Sinéad O’Shea
As seen at the 51st annual Seattle International Film Festival
Edna O’Brien, in her day—and perhaps in several literary circles of which I was unaware—was a famous Irish author. Or, if director Sinéad O’Shea’s film is to be believed, (and I do), infamous would be a better word to describe her.
To the repressed society of mid-20th century Ireland, Edna O’Brien checked all the boxes of a “wicked woman.” She was divorced, had several lovers, and—worst of all—she had her own income. In other words, she was independent, and that independence scared the local patriarchy.
By today’s standards, O’Brien’s so-called wicked ways seem tame. A divorcée with a successful career and multiple partners is not uncommon—quite the opposite. The brilliance of O’Shea’s documentary, however, is how it immerses the audience in the early 1960s, allowing us to feel the tension her life and actions created. And it’s exciting.
To describe Edna O’Brien’s books as indecent is laughable to most modern audiences. The excerpts read in the film are sensual—erotic, even—but tasteful. In fact, they are beautifully crafted, and their success brought down a storm of ire from conservative pundits and jealous writers, most of whom were men.
O’Shea’s direction is brilliant, as is Greta Ohle’s editing. The pacing is nearly perfect, and the patchwork of archival footage and recent interviews is woven into an exquisite tapestry that reflects the varying shades of one woman’s life. I can only imagine the work that went into combing through hours of film stock and videotapes to find just the right snippets for each section. The blend of aspect ratios and color treatments—the black-and-white images, the grainy 16mm reels, the high-definition video—all meld into a stream of connotations and juxtapositions that sweep the viewer off their feet.
Blue Road is captivating because Edna O’Brien’s life was extraordinary. She endured and overcame so much. She wrote a novel a year for several decades. She rubbed shoulders with—and was pursued by—some of the biggest celebrities of her day. And she was free. I won’t give anything away, but the source of that freedom is buried in the anecdote that lends the film its title.
There are many ways to describe Edna O’Brien. She was a rock star. She was heroic. She lived an incredible life. But there was a deep sadness behind her wry smile. Sinéad O’Shea’s riveting Blue Road captures it all.