Vertrauter Feind

Starring big stars Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt The Devil's Own is a strange film- While The Devil's Own doesn't do a spectacular job of fulfilling the promise of its cast or its complex politics-and-guns premise, it is nevertheless reasonably well-paced. The less intently you watch this movie, the greater the chance that you'll be pleased by it. Unfortunately, if you're paying attention, it won't take long to notice that very little of the last act holds together. That sort of high-tension, mind-numbing climax makes it difficult for me to retain more than token enthusiasm for the production as a whole. Pitt and Ford do credible jobs as Frankie and Tom. Despite his character's brutal, bloody past, Pitt manages to capture our sympathy, in large part because, aside from the killings, Frankie seems like a likable sort of guy. Ford, in a role that's a far cry from the cocky Han Solo, recalls Jack Ryan, the protagonist of Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger -- a hero whose armor is just a little too shiny.

I say this making no pretense at completely understanding the Irish conflict myself (you'd have to ask someone with experience of Belfast for a more authentic take on the situation), but the irresponsible way the troubles were used here as a backdrop to what is supposed entertainment staggers me. It isn't as if it needed this detail; the terrorist could have been from any unspecified organisation. In the incompetent handling of sensitive issues that the makers really have no idea of, the production team involved in this really have let themselves down. Brad Pitt realised this too late and henceforth disowned the film, a fact which made me admire and respect him even more.

For this I wanted to hate the film, and yet found myself unable to. Beneath the misbegotten attempts at 'political comment', there is a decent little thriller struggling to get out. Pitt is great as the terrorist (dodgy accent aside) and Ford is as reliable as ever in the role of the honest cop. Director Pakula keeps the story moving at all times and stages the action well. Despite all these pluses, I constantly felt uncomfortable at the ways in which the script tried to manipulate my sympathies. While it's not quite enough to make me downgrade the film on an enjoyment level, it loses big points from an ethical perspective. Shame on you Tinseltown.

I love movies from this timeperiod. They carry a vibe that's gone in modern day movies. Different camera action, less pace (even action movies) and a different psychology of the characters. TDO is not the best movie of it's genre, but Ford and Pitt bring a lot of weight to it. Pitt is charming as always, but is also convincing portraying a ruthless IRA commander. A decent script, lovely irish accents and convincing motives for the characters make this a nice movie for a sunday afternoon.

A thriller about an IRA gunman (Brad Pitt) who draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. Frankie McGuire is one of the IRA's deadliest assassins. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop (Harrison Ford) who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity.

Ford last appeared in a movie two years before this one in 1995's Sabrina (one of Ford's few financial flops) a remake of the 1954 film with its trio of stars, Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden. Before that he'd been on a good run with The two Jack Ryan movies (Patriot Games and Clear and Preset Danger) and The Fugitive.

Whilst Brad Pitt was starting to become the Mega Star he is hitting home runs with roles in Interview With A Vampire, Legends Of The Fall, Seven, 12 Monkeys and Sleepers.

You can see what attracted the stars to the movie as the premise is a good one, however once Ford was cast, it was decided to rewrite the script to make his character more central and the script wasn't finished when they started shooting. Ego clashes, budget overruns and long delays saw Pitt tried to walk away from the project. He settled for denouncing the movie as "the most irresponsible bit of film making – if you can even call it that – that I've ever seen." Upon it's release. The movies ending was reshot two days before it's release too.

As expected Ford and Pitt are the best things in this movie, and the parts where this movie works is because of them. It's a shame this was the last movie of Alan Jay Pakula because I like his work as a Director. Be it Klute, All The Presidents Men or Starting Over and Sophie's Choice he showed himself to be a good director.

Worth checking out at least once

I created an account just for this review, due to the low ratings others have given. I mean, it is not the best movie I've seen, but it is not that bad it should be given 1's, 2's, or 3's, etc. It is not an action movie nor a thriller, but there is still some of both in this movie. Yes, 'aye' is a bit overused, but you will get used to it very quickly. I think Brad and Harrison did a fine job here.

In the end I found it enjoyable to watch on a relaxing evening with a glass of whisky. Just 'a movie' to watch without a lot of triggers and explosions or overthinking scenes. I think people should give it a chance and ignore other reviews.