The opening scene of '71 features recruit Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) in a Boxing Ring, trading blows with a fellow recruit, while their
Drill Sergeant shouts at theme to "Take it, and give it back." If this order was an indication of how Hook
responds to the ordeal he endures over the course of the film, this would be a
typical action movie - almost 'Die Hard' in Northern Ireland, during 'The Troubles'. One where Hook would be a 'hero' who gets bloody and beaten, but fights his way out through 'bad guys' to safety;
but '71 is in fact a tense, gripping, and brutal thriller. It is one that, despite the politically
charged setting, offers no easy explanations or picks sides.
We follow Hook through a brief montage of training, then
see his Platoon ordered to Northern Ireland to assist "the deteriorating
security situation there". Before
offering his younger brother (who still lives in an orphanage) reassurances
that he will be alright, he and his squad mates are shipped over to Northern
Ireland. When they are called out to
support local Police in a search for arms in a Catholic area of the city, the
similarly-green commanding officer turns down full riot gear, stating that they
don't want to give the local people "the wrong message" - they're
there to protect them. This, it goes
without saying, is a mistake, and as the Soldiers are transported through a
maze of terraced streets, roads blocked by burnt-out double decker buses, the
atmosphere grows increasingly ominous.
When the search turns in to a riot, Hook is separated from the rest of
his Platoon who have made a hasty withdrawal from the situation, and he is
pursued by IRA gunmen through the disorientating warren of streets, uncertain
who is friend or foe.
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| Private Hook (O'Connell) is a young soldier, thrown in to a conflict situation he doesn't understand, not knowing who or why he's in conflict with... |
This film expertly creates a spiralling feeling of dread,
before hammering at full pelt in to this tense and frightening chase sequence. From this moment it is brutal and
uncompromising in its depiction of what must have been an undescribably awful
time for the people of Belfast - beatings, shootings, and a bombing are among
the harrowing scenes; and in between we learn of the fears of the ordinary
people of the city who - regardless of their Religious heritage - are in
constant fear of being targeted by para-militaries, police, or British
Army. Again, this film doesn't sermonize
on the rights or wrongs of anyone involved in the conflict - but it must be
said that no one-side comes away from this film looking good in anyway, whether
they be Republican, Unionist, or British.
O'Connell is an actor who has gained a lot of praise this
year for his performance in 'Starred Up', and in the few scenes early in the
film before he and his Platoon get to Belfast he impresses with the understated
way he makes Hook a relatable young man.
He certainly has leading man looks and a certain charisma, but it must
be said that once the film moves to Belfast and things go bad for Hook there
isn't time to admire the acting - other than follow his way through the city as
breathlessly and nervously as he does, pursued and fearful. This film does juggle a number of characters
and plot strands - you have British Intelligence headed by Captain Browning
(Sean Harris, surely one of the most under-rated character actors in Britain at
the moment); an IRA which is beginning to splinter and threaten to fight amidst
themselves, represented by David Wilmott's Boyle and Killian Scott's younger, more militant Quinn; and a Protestant lad who wants to carry on the fight just
because his dad was killed by the IRA (Corey McKinley). The film might have become unfocussed once
these various players are brought in, but it just about manages to keep Hook's
perilous and fraught attempts to get back to his barracks central. Partly because, just like Hook, you're not
sure who he can trust, and are aware that a potential killer could lurk -
literally - around the corner.
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| This film is unflinching in its portrayal of the grim and sometimes brutal nature of the conflict in Northern Ireland... |
This film might be too bleak and brutal for some people,
and some may find the ending not quite satisfying: there is no resolution to
many of the films plot strands, but any film depicting this messy conflict that
tried to make one would feel false and disrespectful. Instead this is a film which, I think, urges
us to consider soldiers from Britain and other countries that are (whilst still only just young men or women) dropped in to war zones elsewhere in the world, without understanding the full nature of or
reasons behind it - or even who is their ally or their enemy. This film certainly invites comparisons with
conflicts where our soldiers have been deployed in the last 40 years.
Though this film does not shy away from depicting the
bleak and brutal nature of the messiest conflict of recent British history, it
is one of the most gripping and effective thrillers to come out of this country
in some time. It is haunting in a lot of
ways, not least because it doesn't settle for an easy explanations. It also shows that Britain can make tense and
compelling thrillers that are on par with the best Hollywood can offer, on a
fraction of the budget. It's the sort of
film that makes you hope that the director Yann Demange and its stars can go on to bigger
things in the future.
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