Customer Reviews

In the Name of the Father (Widescreen)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This film will doubtless appeal to those naive enough to believe the Guildford Four and Birmingham Six are innocent and that the IRA are a loveable gang of carefree Gaelic rogues.

Daniel Day-Lewis, in another brilliant, Oscar-nominated performance. In the Name of the Father is a gritty, gut wrenching drama by the talented Irish film maker Jim Sheridan. Daniel Day-Lewis proves why he is so respected and revered as an actor. Though his role as Gerard Conlon received less press than his turn as Christy Brown in My Left Foot, or Bill the Butcher, in Gangs of New York, he bristles with intensity as the troubled Conlon. Day-Lewis proves why he is one of the finest actors of his generation. A true method actor, Day-Lewis is said to have gone through interrogations from police to lend true authenticity to the role. He has a rare and unequaled fire in his eyes that made me an immediate fan.I could simply not take my eyes off of him. He is not just another pretty face...although, what a face...he is without a doubt a very gifted actor.
Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite are just riviting on screen together. Their portrayl of father and son sings and stings with realism and sincerity.
This film has somehow gone largely unnoticed, however, it is a must see for those of you who enjoy a dose of reality with your drama.
Based on the book of the same name, written by Gerard Conlon himself, the movie does not cast a favorable light on the British Judicial system and their need to place blame on someone, despite their innocence. Your heart will break as you watch Guisseppe and Gerard fight for their case to be heard.
The movie, while placing focus on Day-Lewis's character, is an excellent forum for the wonderful character actor that Postlethwaite is. Their moments together are powerful and passionate. To find a better suited pair for father and son, one would indeed be hard pressed.
This film does exactly what it intended to do. 1. It creates and maintains a realistic relationship between father and son. Gerard's reaction when his father is imprisioned with him is a classic.
2. It is engaging. From begining to end this film will keep even the most hard-core action enthusiast engaged in the story.
3. It is honest. It does not sugar coat the facts as recalled by Conlon and it does not pretend to give a balanced view of events. Instead, it boldly makes a statement about profiling and what can happen when parinoia strikes those who are supposed to be objective and seek truth.
This film is a triumph.

Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day Lewis) was a small-time petty thief in the early seventies and found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time when IRA terrorists bombed a pub in 1974 - killing 4 people.

Totally innocent, Conlon is treated with contempt - even physically tortured and terrorized until he confesses only to make the torture stop.

Soon his father and most of his family are also convicted of bomb making and being part of larger conspiracies including being deeply entrenched in the IRA.

His father Giuseppe (played masterfully by Pete Postlethwaite) and most of his family are also rounded up and promptly convicted - from the youngest cousin to an elderly grandmother - all wrongly convicted and sent to bleak, dank prisons for very lengthy terms.

What makes this so compelling and tragic is that this is entirely a true story. Conlon really served 15 years in prison and thanks to his diligent attorney and the discovery of withheld evidence that freed him in 1989 - otherwise he may well still be languishing in jail, with little sympathy from the outside.

The only good side of this horrific twist of justice was the closeness Gerry ends up having with his father. Once somewhat distant, they find themselves as unwilling cellmates in prison. As miserable as they both are at the situation, the fact that they can keep each other company is a bittersweet comfort.

They grow closer than they likely would have ever gotten had they not been imprisoned together. Compounded by age and the damp, awful conditions of the prison, Giuseppe finds himself sicker and sicker until he is finally taken to the hospital all too late. Gerry is not permitted to be at his father's side as he is taken to the hospital, only to find out later that his father has died, leaving Gerry alone with no one to console his broken heart.

The injustice done to the "Guildford Four" in a small way was a necessary evil, in that it so shocked the conscience of British common man, that many reforms were put in to place to help prevent this sort of thing from happening again.

While Emma Thompson's character (Conlon's lawyer) doesn't make an appearance until near the end of the story, her presence is powerful and an important balance for the film.

Only someone with the stoniest of hearts will not feel at least a lump in their throat at many scenes of this well acted, compelling, real-life drama - nor will you finish watching it and not be changed in some way.

Good everything about this movie. Too bad it had to happen in the first place. Lives devastated for no reason. "The Troubles" are not yet over.

During a spate of IRA-triggered bombings in the early 1970s in the UK, the beleaguered British government created a haphazard "Prevention of Terrorism Act" which allowed the arrest of any individual on the flimsiest of suspicions. When explosions rocked two pubs in Guildford (London?) a group of four Irish junkies -- Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day Lewis) and three others -- were wrongfully arrested in what we are led to believe was a miscarriage of justice.

The movie is based on Gerry's memoirs, so it cannot be passed off as impeccably "factual" but if some memories have been bent into formulaic shape for entertainment purposes, the truth still remains: these people were not murdering masterminds.

There are really two stories working in the film:

(1) The steamrolling of the "Guildford Four" by the British government; and
(2) The atavistic relationship between Gerry and his father Guiseppe while the two were in prison

Each of these stories would have made a taut and fascinating film by itself, but combined they are an incredible force. Gerry's interrogation is an immemorable moment in cinematic history, including disconcerting scenes of police officials watching the torture in silence.

The movie doesn't let up for a moment. The courtroom drama is clearly peripheral to the theme, but it provides some of the film's best moments. While some of the scenes in the latter half of the movie may seem a bit redundant (similar things happening over and over again in the prison life) all that is obscured by the sheer screen presence of Daniel Day Lewis. In fact, the only time you are not riveted by the all-round powerhouse acting is when U2's poignant background score has taken center stage.

An absolute must for fans of political films, and a terrific drama for the rest of us. I highly recommend it.

Originally I bought this movie as part of a class I am taking called Northern Ireland Peace Process. The professor showed the video in class and I was so moved I bought it.

I literally wanted to throw my shoe through the TV out of frustration for the lead characters involved. Whate made it more frustrating, the fact it was based on a true story.

The movie caught the times of Belfast in the 70's when the violent Troubles began in the conflict. It's completely biased for the lead character but, it was his story and amazingly told. The entire way through the movie you were right there with him and cheering all the way.

I highly recommend this movie, but I also state that it is easy to get caught up in its emotions.

This snapshot about the wounds suffered by the Irish due to the British is an interesting enough story, with consistent acting (Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thopmpson) and realistic, credible direction from Jim Sheridan. It wisely avoids over-the-top melodrama and even provides some moving scenes of a father and son relationship. However, as the plot unfolds, the movie starts losing its interest and becomes a familiar, average story about innocent and falsely-accused prisoners. At times, it almost seems like an ordinary made-for-tv flick exposing a prison tale, and the unsurprising and expected ending doesn`t help much, either. It also drags for too long, repeating its ideas and failing to engage at some parts. Overall, it`s not a bad cinematic experience but it lacks the punch and wit that it should have, and ends up being not too memmorable as a result.
A somewhat worthy rental, still far from a must see.

I love this movie. Daniel Day Lewis shines as Gerry Conlon but it is Pete Postlewaite whose devastating perfromance just breaks your heart.
What the English Judicial System did to Conlon and specially to his family was no less than an infamy, however, if there is one thing I learned from this movie is that English prision guards have to be the most corteous in the whole world !

This film shows the great injustices done by the British government against Irish native Gerry Conlan, his father Guiseppe, and the entire Conlan family. Takes place during the 1970's in terrorism torn Belfast and London. When Gerry and his friend Paul are falsely accused of being the IRA terrorists responsible for the bombing of the Guilford Pub which left five innocent victims dead, the police investigators use brute cruelty to force a confession by all of the accused. The Conlans are sentenced to terms in prison ranging from 4 years to life without parole. When Gerry's father, Guiseppe, dies in prison, Gerry sets out to clear his father's ( and his own) name. A touching real-life masterpiece that reveals a corrupt system of justice. A must see.

For whom this is a first approach to the movie, expect a memorable experience in the last scene, when the the charges are dismissed in the appealing trial of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and his acctitude toward his new possibilities of life, a performance that will touch you in deed. But, if you are of the lucky ones who had the chance to see the movie in home theathers, you will certainly miss the very well known U2 song which uncomparable enhanced the impact of Daniel Day-Lewis and Emma Thompson performances at the culminating scene. Simply memorable.
Anyway, despite of this, the DVD release of this movie really worths it and it's a "must have" if you are addicted to this genre.