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The best film about the troubles in Northern Ireland

posted 16 years ago by pgreenfi
15 replies | jump to latest

Most of the films made about Northern Ireland are bias towards one side or another but this films gets the balance right.

It shows the Ira split with some wanting peace but others happy to carry on with the fight. It shows the British as being awkward and not really being that bothered about peace.

Above all it is a brilliant performance by Daniel Day-lewis as a former IRA man fed up with all the troubles who just wants to get on with his life.

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 15 years ago

actually its a piece of melodramatic "cant we all just get along" *beep*

paints the troubles in black and white.

[–] eewilson 15 years ago

Maybe black and white as in "if we don't figure this out, no one will be safe or happy", but I agree. I didn't feel a bias towards one side or another with this film.

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 15 years ago

Yes but it has the feel of being made by an outsider, its like going to Iraq and saying to the Sunnis and Shi-ites "why cant you just get along?"

its very patronsiing to what people here actually went through.

[–] Island_Of_Ireland 15 years ago

Basically, the history of Ireland runs too deep to be solved through a decent boxer.

[–] ldlamb74 8 years ago

A writer from Belfast and a director from Dublin. Doesn't seem like "outsiders" to me.

[–] SteveResin 11 years ago

actually its a piece of melodramatic "cant we all just get along" *beep*
paints the troubles in black and white.

I'd agree with this. I'm surprised at the praise this film gets. Sure, the acting is top notch and there's some good set pieces but the storyline was like a child's view of the Troubles. The ending where the bad guy gets his in the tunnel completely undid any good message the movie previously set... peace is only achievable by murdering the bad guys? Really?

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Duty Now For The Future

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] 8 years ago

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[–] Serbius 13 years ago

It's a great movie, and terrific performance by Daniel Day-Lewis as always.

"You're a funny man, Sully, I like you. That's why I'm going to kill you last."

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] Sophitia36 13 years ago

I also thought it was pretty good.

Well, yes of course it does show a hero working for peace and bad guys who want to destroy his efforts.
It is a little simplistic, maybe because it needs to reach a wider audience than just specialists of the Troubles and Northern Irish people.
But I don't think it's black and white or patronizing.

I think that saying it could be better if people could get along is just common sense, not manicheism.
It becomes silly when it's shown as a very easy thing to do, Pocahontas-style (-Please stop fighting, just forget all your problems and become friends! -OK you're right let's do this!)
I don't think it was the case here.
I didn't feel like it was trying to suggest that the boxer was going to bring peace all by himself. Only that even with the best intentions, things are not that easy. The way the boxing match degenerated was a good example.
And the "happy ending" is not that happy, either.

[–] IceboxMovies 12 years ago

I've only seen a handful of films about the Irish Troubles, but this one gets under my skin the most--even moreso than The Crying Game. It's gets straight to the heart of the IRA's terrorist dealings, which makes it all the more chilling.

"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."

[–] 12 years ago

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[–] Nikon11 10 years ago

It was a decent film, but certainly not the best concerning NI issues.

At times, it was just a love story with some random bombings and local political tension as the backdrop.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16180) 2 years ago

Ronin, In the Name of the Father, and The Crying Game were all pretty damn excellent.