THE DIRECTOR of Wild Mountain Thyme has (outrageously) claimed that Irish accents are too difficult for people to understand.
John Patrick Shanley's - whose new Ireland-based romantic comedy was recently slaughtered by critics for the, frankly, appalling 'Irish accents' on display - has defended his actors, insisting that a normal Irish accent would be too difficult for an international audience to understand.
Speaking to Variety magazine, Shanley explained that if the characters produced accurate rural Irish accents, no one would understand them.
"You have to make the accent more accessible to a global audience," he claimed.
Hollywood stars Emily Blunt, Christopher Walken, Jamie Dornan and Jon Hamm star in the film, and have all been well and truly ridiculed since the trailer was released earlier this month.
Blunt took the brunt of the criticism from fans.
One tweeted: "Emily Blunt with the full leprechaun accent is hard to listen to."
A second lamented: "I love Emily Blunt with all my heart but lord above that accent is atrocious."
I love Emily Blunt with all my heart but lord above that accent is atrocious. https://t.co/CUqlMzMOqR
— Frances Watkins (@FrancesW96) November 10, 2020
Despite the atrocious end-result, it's understood that lead stars Dornan and Blunt worked with Irish dialect coach Brendan Gunn to perfect their accents.
It was particularly strange that Dornan, who grew up in Belfast, produced such a bizarre take on rural Irish twang.
According to Variety, he wanted to sound less metropolitan, which is why he doesn't speak in his normal voice throughout the film.
