|
'71
| Released |
10 October 2014 |
| Director |
Yann Demange |
Starring
|
Jack O'Connell, Sean Harris, Sam Reid, Paul Anderson, Sam Hazeldine, Charlie Murphy, Killian Scott, Valene Kane, David Wilmot, Richard Dormer, Martin McCann |
| Writer(s) |
Gregory Burke |
| Producer(s) |
Robin Gutch, Angus Lamont |
| Origin |
United Kingdom |
| Running Time |
99 minutes |
| Genre |
Action, drama, war |
| Rating |
15A |
|
|
Belfast Dangerous.
History is difficult to film.
Not only is it impossible to approach objectively, but in the case of recent history – particularly the history of a conflict – there is the unavoidable fact that this is something people were fighting and dying over in very recent memory. Each side has their own reasons for why, their own set of beliefs, creating a mire for the filmmaker as historian to wade through and construct a narrative out of.
Director Yann Demange approaches the thorny (and far from fully resolved) history of the troubles in Northern Ireland, by making what is primarily a good film, and only secondarily a film about history.
’71 is first and foremost a cat and mouse thriller – the fact that it is set in Belfast in the titular year is secondary. And by crafting this intense thriller that is totally engaging as a piece of cinema, Demange manages to convey some very deep insights into the conflict in the North in the subtext.
On his first day in Belfast, a young British soldier (Jack O’Connell) gets caught up in a riot in a catholic neighbourhood and left behind by his unit. What follows is a tense, gritty, breathless chase back to his base that is impossible to witness from anywhere but the edge of your seat.
The film avoids broad strokes and manages to craft a well formed portrait of the myriad of factions frightening it out on the streets of Belfast. The paramilitary groups on both sides are divided amongst themselves by ideology and in-fighting, while the ordinary people are driven by fear and only want to live their lives in peace. ’71 weaves through a cross section of all of these lives, forming a complex portrait of a real daily life in a conflict zone.
And all of this is just background, as the story remains primarily character focused, as the young soldier’s fight for survival becomes ever more desperate.
Eventually the film becomes a little derailed in an attempt to up the stakes, and history (and accuracy) eventually takes a back seat to narrative. But the film is too purely engaging for this to really be a problem. And for the most part the equilibrium between action and accuracy stays fairly even – a truly impressive balancing act.
’71 is the exact opposite to most of the films that have so far been made about the troubles. There is no ideology (apart from perhaps a cynicism towards the nature of war in general), only strong filmmaking. The narrative is tight, the performances are top notch, and the setting only serves to lend a palpable sense of reality that only feeds into the tension.
Anybody else attempting to film historical events should take note.
- Bernard O'Rourke |
