I am not British nor am I Irish. And, as far as 'the troubles' go, I don't have a very strong opinion one way or another. A lot of crazy stuff went on for so long and there's so much guilt, it's hard to take a side--though I sure hate the idea of terrorism. So, I am not a person with a dog in the fight, so to speak. I just thought I'd mention this so you don't think I had a particular stake in the film.
The film is the story of Gerry Conlon, though it also affected his father, the rest of his family and some friends. Back during the heyday of IRA terrorism in the 1970s, the British were obviously very frustrated and were willing to go to some extreme methods to stop it--even if it meant suspending traditional constitutional rights. This is understandable but troubling. But what goes WAY beyond troubling were the methods used by the prosecutors and police to convict a group of people for a bombing--even when it turned out that they knew that the people were probably innocent! The film is essentially a showcase for Daniel Day-Lewis to show off his acting skills. However, the film also had lovely direction and was a first-class project all around. Well worth seeing--and there's a good chance this film might make you feel a little mad.
The film is the story of Gerry Conlon, though it also affected his father, the rest of his family and some friends. Back during the heyday of IRA terrorism in the 1970s, the British were obviously very frustrated and were willing to go to some extreme methods to stop it--even if it meant suspending traditional constitutional rights. This is understandable but troubling. But what goes WAY beyond troubling were the methods used by the prosecutors and police to convict a group of people for a bombing--even when it turned out that they knew that the people were probably innocent! The film is essentially a showcase for Daniel Day-Lewis to show off his acting skills. However, the film also had lovely direction and was a first-class project all around. Well worth seeing--and there's a good chance this film might make you feel a little mad.