A low-key, much-forgotten but well-executed film.
This movie is totally forgotten these days. Well, actually, if you're not native or very close to Ireland, I think the very existence and action of the IRA seems like something that ended many years ago, and it doesn't. It was a recent thing, and it still has marks on people and society. The film focuses, in particular, on the case of the “Guildford Four” and the “Maguire Seven”, which was a group of people who were accused of a bomb attack and of collaborating with the IRA, later proving to be if they were all innocent. The acquittal, however, came too late for the family patriarch, who died in prison. The accused were, almost all, related to each other, family or friendship.
I don't know the facts very well, although I did read something about the attack and the real case the film was based on, in order to better prepare myself to understand the film and be able to talk about it. As far as I can tell, the film obviously took a lot of liberties to make the story more appealing and dramatic, but nothing that is shockingly out of line with what happened.
Daniel Day Lewis was still relatively young here, but he was already showing signs of great talent. He is a focused actor and very responsible with his work, who dedicates himself to what he does and commits himself to the character. And we can see how he adapts to the character, and makes it real and believable and human. I also really enjoyed Pete Postlethwaite's work. I think it's particularly notable the way he allowed himself to age in order to play an older, physically impaired character.
Technically, the film is very worthy in its effort to portray the ordeal to which the convicts were subjected, and it does so in a very convincing and credible way. The choice of sets, filming locations and costumes contribute a lot to this. The film works very well on the environment and psyche of the characters, resulting in a dense drama, which may not please those who want a lighter film, but which works very well. The opening credits were well-introduced, even though I don't like the theme song.