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As their 10th anniversary approaches, Breda (Eileen Walsh) and Billy (Aidan Kelly) are trying to get over a rocky part of their marriage. Billy, who works for the phone company, spends most of his free time at the local pub and eyeing the much younger Imelda (Sarah Greene), who loves to party. Meanwhile, Breda discusses her marital problems with her best friend, Eilish (Lesley Conroy), who thinks Breda needs to go out more and have fun instead of just staying home and taking care of her two kids, Edel (Carolyn Murray) and James (Brendan Kelleher). Breda has big plans for the anniversary night, even making a new dress for the occasion, hoping it will inject much-needed romance into their stale marriage, but Billy keeps growing more and more distant. Although he promises that their anniversary will be special, he is worried that he will not be able to live up to his word. Directed by Declan Recks, EDEN, set in the Irish Midlands, is a poignant adult drama based on the two-character play by Eugene O'Brien, who also wrote the screenplay. The title is both a reference to the small town of Edenderry, where O'Brien is from, as well as the biblical Garden of Eden, where temptation was just within reach. Recks and O'Brien, along with Walsh and other members of the cast and crew, had previously worked together on the successful Irish television miniseries PURE MULE, and that experience helps give the film a feeling of closeness and warmth. Walsh, who was named Best Actress at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, is extraordinary in a role that her sister Catherine played in the original Abbey Theatre production, while Kelly is excellent as the torn Billy. The film is dedicated to Recks's father, Richie, who plays bartender Quenchers Quinn, and who died shortly after filming was completed.
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