Been a tough 18 mo but I hope to be back to writing soon :)
Been a tough 18 mo but I hope to be back to writing soon :)
Member since:11.12.2005
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"In the Name of the Father" is based on the autobiography of Gerry Conlon, one of the wrongly convicted Guildford Four pub bombings that happened in the 1970's. The Guildford Four were released from prison in 1989 and since then Gerry Conlon has released his book "Proved Innocent."
NOTE: I have not read the book, and knew nothing of the story of the Guildford Four until I watched this film, and therefore this review is based on my opinion of the film and how it made me feel.
Jim Sheridan produced this film, along with many other films with their roots in Ireland, including My Left Foot, Bloody Sunday and In America. This particular film was first released in 1993, four years after the Guildford Four were freed.
Background ----------------- What happened to the Guildford Four is now well documented and is an example of one the terrible miscarriages of justice that has happened in Britain in the recent past. Gerry Conlon lived in Belfast and was not a particularly politically motivated individual despite the fact that the streets of Belfast were depicted as a war zone and there was a lot of tension on the streets. Following on from an incident where his father Guiseppe managed to save Gerry from being kneecapped by members of the IRA, Gerry was advised to make a better life for himself in England.
Shortly after the bombings, and two days after the Prevention of Terrorism Act was rushed through and came into British Law, Gerry was arrested and held for seven days without charge and without being able to see a lawyer. Following a trial, Gerry and the other people
who were allegedly involved then spent 15 years in prison, and Guiseppe Conlon, Gerry's father died before he won his campaign to be released. Thanks to the work of their Lawyer and eventually the support of the British Public, the Guildford Four were finally released (MR Hill five years after the first three for a Murder confession on a policeman, given at the same time). Gerry and the other three individuals have had to get on with their lives and got a paltry compensation and have had to deal with the psychological effects such as post traumatic stress disorder.
Connected to the case is the "Maguire Seven". Annie Maguire was the auntie of Gerry Conlon, and the person he should have gone to live with in England, but he chose the squat. The family got involved and served significant time in prison on very dodgy forensic evidence involving nitroglycerin on their hands. His father was staying there when he came to England following his son's arrest, and ended up on a trumped up charge that was to cost him the rest of his days in prison.
My Thoughts ----------------- The opening scenes were fast-paced, and full of tension as violence erupts on the riot-stricken streets of Belfast. You can feel the fear in the atmosphere and on the faces of the men, women and children in the film. The sound track to the film is often loud with plenty of well known artists including Bono, Bob Dylan, the Kinks and Sinead O'Connor.
There is only one side to this movie and that is the side of Gerry Conlon, (based on his Autobiography). We do not get to hear the side of the police or the prison service. The plotline does deviate from the truth presumably to simplify the story and to make it easier to re-enact. For example the four were not actually tried together along with half the relations as in the film, and I am not now sure if Gerry and Guiseppe did not spend time in the same jail, as the film goes on to show.
Even with those discrepancies, it is beyond belief to think that these people could have been convicted of the crimes. In places it seemed absolutely farcical. Four people living in a squat and taking drugs being involved in an organisation such as the IRA? The other three members were a school-friend who Gerry met on the boat to England, another friend who they squatted with once they arrived, and an English girl - Carol Richardson who lived in the squat. This wasn't even in Guildford! The brutality shown to them in police custody was appalling and Gerry finally cracked when the police threatened to kill his father.
The time in the prison cells is an opportunity for Gerry and Guiseppe to resolve their lifelong differences. There are some poignant and mildly amusing exchanges between father and son, as they both cope to dealing with prison life in their own very different ways. Peter Postlethwaite plays an excellent role as Guiseppe, a man who seems to be quite a meek individual and certainly not anyone who could conspire to bombings as the British police seemed to believe. Gerry himself was played by Daniel Day Lewis, who also played the lead role in My Left Foot, by the same director.
I don't think Emma Thompson who played the lawyer who set about the fight to free the Guildford Four, had a particularly well developed role. I almost think the film could be rewritten without the part, as it seems insignificant to the overall storyline.
This was a very strong tense drama and unfortunately, because there are some discrepancies in the story, it has received some criticism. Not knowing anything at all about the case before I saw the film, it is now hard to know what is truth and what is fiction. But if Jim Sheridan wanted to make the point that 11 people's lives were ruined for ever because of the actions of the British police force, then he made that point strongly. He did not represent the four as angels (they lived in a squat, committed petty crimes and took drugs), but neither does it make them murderers. Meanwhile even though the IRA admitted to the government that the wrong men were in jail and the home office acknowledged this in 1987, these people still remained in jail. You are left with the feeling that the British system needed to reassure the public in the wake of hysteria over the bombings and deaths that had occurred at the time. Even more sad as you watch the film is the realisation that the families of the victims of the bombing still have not seen real justice 30 years later.
This film runs for 133 minutes and is rated 15 in UK. I have rated it four stars as it is powerful in its portrayal of the story of the Guildford Four. Had there not been inaccuracies in the plot line I would have given it five stars, but Jim Sheridan still did ensure that their mis-justice has been acknowledged.
This is an older film and there are few DVD extras. You can view the movie from it's four main chapters, and there are five languages and subtitles in several languages. Other than that, there is a short powerpoint presentation about the background to the film itself, and finally a biography on the three main actors plus Jim Sheridan. It is a shame with a film such as this, that there wasn't a section on the making of the film itself, as it would be interesting to get the director's perspective on how and why the film was made as it was.
(If you watch the film you will learn that Tony Blair made a public apology for the miscarriage of justice ten years after they were released)
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drama that mirrors one man's 15 year struggle and ultimate triumph over terrible injustice.In the Name of the Father tells the true saga of Gerry Conlon. A petty th...
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![In the Name of the Father [DVD] [1994]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78531637.jpg "In the Name of the Father [DVD] [1994]")
Dec 19th, 2005
(Dec 27th, 2005)
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