far and away

Director: ron howard

Actor: tom cruise,nicole kidman,thomas gibson,robert prosky

Data Published: Fri May 22 1992

Genres: Adventure,Drama,Romance,Western

Key Words: three word title,voyeurism,voyeur,female voyeur,watching someone sleep

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104231/

WIKI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_and_Away

Description: Far and Away is a movie starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Thomas Gibson. A young Irish couple flee to the States, but subsequently struggle to obtain land and prosper freely.

Plot: In Ireland in 1892, Joseph Donnelly's family home is burned down by his landlord's men because of unpaid rent. Joseph's father just died and made a promise to his father that he will run his own land someday. Joseph unsuccessfully attempts to kill the landlord, Mr. Christie. Instead Joseph injures himself, and Mrs. Christie and their daughter Shannon nurse him back to health with the intent of hanging him. Joseph meets Shannon, who rebels against family tradition and plans to run away from home, board a ship, and claim free land in America. She offers to take Joseph with her as her servant so she, a single woman, can travel without scandal. Joseph's doesn't believe her and refuses to travel with Shannon. Joseph plans to duel Christie's foreman, Stephen Chase-- he is the man who set fire to the Donnelly family home. Christie meets Joseph before the duel, and tells him that he had nothing do with Joseph's family's eviction or that of any of the other tenant farmers, since the land is managed by Chase. The duel begins, and Chase is very close to shooting Joseph, but Shannon dashes in with her horse and buggy, rescuing Joseph at the last moment. Together on a ship bound for America, Shannon meets Mr. McGuire, who tells her and Joseph about America's arable free land in Oklahoma, informing them that once they get to America, they must head out by train to Oklahoma and race everyone else for a claim to stake. Shannon divulges that her collection of valuable silver spoons will cover all expenses to get the pair to Oklahoma, and McGuire offers to help her find a shop to sell them to once they arrive in America. On arriving in Boston, McGuire is shot, and Shannon's spoons fall out of his clothing and get snatched up by passersby. Joseph rescues her, but not the spoons. Soon the two immigrants are introduced to Mike Kelly, a Boston ward boss, and an Irish-American himself. Kelly finds Joseph and Shannon jobs, and a room to rent in a brothel, which they must share. To avoid scandal, Joseph says Shannon is his sister. Because they are working-class people, it would be dangerous for their fellow Irish immigrants to find out about her privileged background. As the pair continues to share a room, Joseph and Shannon become attracted to each other, but both keep up a front of indifference. One night, Joseph rushes out to Boss Kelly's club, where a bare-knuckle boxing match is underway. Joseph challenges the winner, knocks him out, and soon becomes a regular at the club to make extra cash while both he and Shannon work in a chicken-plucking plant. Back in Ireland, the Christies' house is burned down by angry tenants in the Irish Land War, so the Christies decide to emigrate to America, hoping also to find their daughter. Meanwhile Joseph discovers that Shannon has gone to Kelly's club. He discovers Shannon on stage as a burlesque dancer. He tries to cover her with his jacket, demanding that she stop dancing. The Irish men surrounding the couple beg him to fight and offer him a small fortune ($200). Shannon, who previously scorned boxing, urges him to fight, since the money would get them to Oklahoma. Joseph agrees and is winning until he notices one of his backers (a member of the city council) groping Shannon, who is sitting on his lap. Joseph pushes through the crowd to free her, but is pushed back into the ring, where his foot accidentally "toes" the line, but he isn't ready and his opponent lands a sucker punch, after which Joseph is defeated. In retaliation for the hundreds of dollars Joseph's boxing loss has cost Boss Kelly and his friends, Joseph is thrown out of Kelly's club. Joseph meets a policeman who shows him a photograph of Shannon, asking if he's seen her. Joseph returns to their room in the brothel to find Kelly and his thugs searching their room for the money he and Shannon saved. Kelly takes their money, and Joseph and Shannon are thrown out into the streets, homeless. Cold and famished, the pair enter a seemingly abandoned and luxurious house. Joseph encourages Shannon to pretend the house is hers and he is her servant, but she begs him to pretend they are married and the house is theirs. During that tender moment, the owners of the house return and chase them away, shooting Shannon in the back. Joseph, who knows the Christies are looking for her in Boston, brings Shannon to the home where they're staying. He decides Shannon will be better cared for by them, and leaves, despite his obvious feelings for her. Joseph heads west to the Ozarks. He finds work laying train track, seemingly abandoning his dream of owning land. He sees a wagon train out the door of his boxcar. Knowing it is headed for the Oklahoma land rush, Joseph abandons the railroad and joins the wagon train, arriving in Oklahoma Territory just in time for the Land Run of 1893. Joseph finds Shannon, Chase, and the Christies already in Oklahoma. Chase, having seen Joseph talking to Shannon, threatens to kill him if he goes near Shannon again. Joseph buys a horse for the land rush, but the horse dies in a few hours, and he is forced to ride an unruly horse he manages to tame. He discovers that Chase has cheated by illegally inspecting the territory before the race, and is headed for the extremely desirable land he found. On this other horse, Joseph quickly outpaces everybody and catches up with Shannon and Chase. Joseph is ready to plant his claim flag, but Chase rushes on horseback at Joseph. A fight breaks out, with Joseph falling and crushed by the horse. Shannon runs to his side and rejects Chase when he questions her actions. Joseph professes his love for Shannon. Joseph passed out a little and was revived. They both drive the land stake into the ground and claim their prize land before the other settlers get there.