Rather lame, I thought. It tries to avoid the conventional trap of Hollywood sentimentality by appearing all 'hip' and 'cool' with its swanky tunes, but it just comes across as silly and dated. And then once it gets to jail, it becomes a low-rent Shawshank Redemption (or any other prison movie, for that matter). DDL is, frankly, wasted, though Pete Postlethwaite is good.

And how did Emma Thompson even get into the story? She just appeared all of a sudden, and seems to serve no purpose of her own. What a waste of an Oscar nomination.

Meh.

Agreed about that. She had one good scene (her speech in the court) - but an Oscar nom? Really?


However, I wouldn't compare it to Shawshank. I enjoyed the prison scenes because they were more than anything about a father-son-relationship. That was the emotional core of the film to me and the scenes between Postlethwaite and DDL are the best in the film.

B+


It's a fine film that features Pete Poslethwaite's career-best performance. Jim Sheridan manages to turn this true life story into a strong piece of filmmaking which never comes across as dry or by-the-numbers, a trap it could have easily fallen into. The true life story of the wrongly imprisoned Gerry Conlon is very engaging and the portrayal of the British system of justice during the 70s. Of course, some details have been altered to make the film more engaging and tense, but the substantial stuff was left untouched. A story as outrageous as this one simply lends itself very well to a cinematic adaptation without even having to change much.

We've also got a very solid cast here. Despite Daniel Day-Lewis presence in the film (who was about 15 years older than Gerry Conlon was at the time he was arrested), he is actually NOT the most impressive member of the cast. It's Pete Postlethwaite who steals all the scenes he's in with his quiet and thoroughly moving performance as Gerry's righteous father. The scenes between Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite are definitely the best parts of the whole film. This also brings me to the small issue I had with the film. The whole beginning in Ireland and Gerry's days in England before the bombing were actually kind of dull. The movie picks up majorly with the imprisonment of the Guilford Four and the Maguire Seven. The prison scenes make up the best part of the film. As interesting as the frame story of this film is, to me it was still very much a father-son story. I loved the way their uneasy relationship slowly, but gradually became tighter in prison. This is certainly helped by Postlethwaite's nuanced and layered performance and Daniel Day-Lewis' more outwards angry turn. The characters have been developed very well here. The final part of the film (when the Emma Thompson finally steps into the picture and the conviction is overturned) is engaging, but pales in comparison to the quieter scenes between Gerry and his father. Speaking of Thompson, I don't quite understand why she has been nominated for an Oscar for this role. She has one big emotional scene at the court, but apart from that she's very much an unremarkable side character. As I said, Day-Lewis delivers a good performance here, but it doesn't touch the great heights of his career (i.e. the other three Oscar-nominated performances he has delivered) and he is actually outshined by someone else in this film.

The writing of the film is solid and Jim Sheridan lends this film some energy that many films of this kind don't have. The ending is a bit abrupt as the film doesn't seem to find a fitting conclusion to the story, but it didn't bother me much. On the whole, it was a very solid film, carried by its god cast and the chemistry between Postlethwaite and Day-Lewis.

It's quite depressing but DDL and Pete are great.

Amazing, amazing film. One of the most touching father/son relationships ever portrayed on film. Overflowing with arresting character beats and fascinating period details. Day-Lewis is in top, top form. Jim Sheridan is a great director.

I've finally seen this and I thought it was amazing and completely took me by surprise by how good it was. I expected a solid movie with great performances but this was so much better. I thought it wasn't dull for a moment and I was engaged to the story every single second. Great movie and sure to be rewatched many times in the future.