Movie Review: "In the Name of the Father"......

This movie, based on a true story, is vivid and shocking indictment of the English criminal justice system. It depicts a British society so obsessed with IRA terrorism that they would stop at nothing, even physical torture and near police state conditions, to bring a "guilty person" to justice. It shows a system in which when the truth is uncovered that Conlon and his family were in fact blameless the authorities refuse to acknowledge this fact and allow to Conlon's to remain in prison. Also shocking are the scenes in which not only are the prisoner's visits monitored but a transcript is taken of the conversations. However, not every victim of the British system was guilty.

This is the story of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day Lewis) a young Irish man caught in the wrong place and the wrong time and is implicated and ultimately convicted in an IRA bombing attack on a British pub. The movie takes the viewer through this process. From his time in London to his arrest and torture, both physical and psychological, at the hand of the British police during his interrogation to his 15 year incarceration in a maximum security facility to his triumphant appeal and release. The interrogation sequences are most disturbing in their depiction of the combination of physical and mental abuse used to wear down a suspect to the point where he or she will admit and confess to any thing in order to end the abuse. We also see how the police arrest Conlon's entire family including his father as co-conspirators. Ultimately, they are all convicted and sentenced to varying term in prison. Conlon and his father Giuseppe are cell-mates and the movie goes on to explore the transformation of their relationship from a rather distant and cold one to a caring and loving one as the years of their incarceration drag on.

Daniel Day Lewis turns in a memorable performance in his monument to excesses of Britain's war on domestic terrorism. Emma Thompson is OK in her role has a stalwart supporter of the family and their cause but her role could have been bigger. This movie is not intended to be in any way balanced whatsoever. The viewer is supposed to be sympathetic toward the Conlon family and have nothing but contempt for the British authorities. The aforementioned instances and more make this emotional connection very easy to make. That is a little more than disturbing.

As with other fact based movies, "JFK" et. al., we are getting a one sided view of the issue. In many cases the makers use artistic license to "tweak" the plot in one way or the other. As a result, viewers who may not be as up to speed on these issues may accept these interpretations as gospel when in fact they are not. I am suggesting that viewers should not just accept at face value the opinions or views of very often biased director and producers who are out to make a political point.

Link to the Internet Movie Database for "In the Name of the Father"......

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107207/