Dancing at Lughnasa seems unfinished, and its tragedy is diluted and diminished. This is a pity considering the extremely high quality of the performances.

Friel apart, the making of the film is impressive. In addition to Streep, her sisters are as vital as the script allows.

It is all memory and no drama. Onstage, they dance, and they are dancing now. On film, somehow, they are dancing then. It is not enough.

[These] are a lot of characters to squeeze into a 94-minute movie, especially one that seems compelled to include lots of travelogue-style scenery. Moments that must in the theater have glowered with magic here become drearily obvious.