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Very nicely shot, written, directed and acted, this is almost a one-of-a-kind treatment of an imagined journey - involving two of modern English/Irish histories most controversial political & personal opposites. It's an almost Shakespearian interaction between two powerful men of contemporary social influence - heading on a crash course that will either ignite or defuse a shockingly long running bloody civil war. Is it treated too lightly? (as some might suggest) or is it safe to assume that both these aging men knew it was now or never - the time had come! Stop the bloodshed, stop the negative destruction of their country, begin to heal and live again, united. Great Irish locations (standing in for Scotland) and music score add much to this entertaining tour de force-musing on what might have happened.

I may also go so far to say that prolific british composer, Steve Warbeck's rather potent & melodious score, was actually worthy of a larger project than this (as was his 2001 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin') Some composers don't seem to get the right commissions to grace their above average work. At least he's added handsomely to this thoroughly entertaining venture.

Greetings again from the darkness. Only the rarest of fiction can match the depth and intensity of historically crucial watershed moments. A list of such moments would certainly include the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement that ended 40 years of violent civil war between the Unionist and Republican factions of Northern Ireland. Director Nick Hamm and writer Colin Bateman team up to bring us a speculative dramatization of the conversation that 'might' have led to the treaty.

Timothy Spall plays Reverend Ian Paisley, leader of the Unionists and an anti-Catholic evangelical minister. Colm Meaney plays Martin McGuinness, the rebellious former IRA leader ("allegedly", he clarifies) who leads the Irish Republicans (Sinn Fein). These two extremists have been at war for most of their lives, yet had never met until circumstances brought them together for negotiations.

One's take on the film will likely be determined by the level of need for historical accuracy and any personal connection to long-lasting war in Northern Ireland. Either of these traits will likely have you scoffing at the backseat verbal sparring and the plot contrivances that allow the two mortal enemies to slowly break down the ideological barriers. On the other hand, it can be viewed as a mis-matched buddy movie featuring a game of witty one-upmanship with political and historical relevance.

Either way, the dueling actors are a pleasure to watch. Mr. Spall surely has the more theatrical role, and he revels in the buttoned-up judgmental nature of Paisley – a man loyal enough to be attending his 50th wedding anniversary party, and sufficiently devoted to his beliefs that his last visit to a movie theatre was in 1973 as he led the protests against The Exorcist. In contrast, Mr. Meaney plays McGuinness as both determined to find common ground and worn down by the years of fighting and lack of progress.

Toby Stephens plays Prime Minister Tony Blair, while Freddie Highmore is the young driver charged with surreptitiously igniting conversation between the two rivals. He is fed instructions through his ear-piece by an MI5 director played by John Hurt, in one of his final film appearances. Unfortunately, this bit of "narration" came across as condescending to this viewer who surely could have done without such elementary guidance. Still, the sight of Mr. Hurt on film is always welcome.

The infusion of humor is nearly non-stop. There's a comical exchange about Samuel L. Jackson, a joke about the Titanic, and a Paisley diatribe at a gas station over a declined credit card that would easily fit in most any Hollywood buddy flick. However, these elements undermine one of the early on screen interviews we see when a citizen states bombs going off as you walk down the street is "part of life". "You can almost taste the hatred" is a great line, but unfortunately doesn't match the script of what we witness on screen. The two men re-hash some key events such as 1972's Bloody Sunday, and it's these moments that remind us just how important this new agreement was to the country. It's understandable (and relevant today) how 40 years of hate can become a way of life and difficult to end, and it also shows us just how far actual communication can go in finding common ground between folks … even The Chuckles Brothers.

It's 2006. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern have gathered both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict to negotiate the eventual Good Friday Agreement. Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) is the rigid firebrand loyalist preacher. Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) is the public face of the IRA. They represent the far sides of the conflict and have never spoken with each other. Ian needs to return home for his 50th wedding anniversary. Martin insists on joining him as protocol and more importantly, as the last chance to talk to him man-to-man with the only hope to get a yes to the agreement. Jack (Freddie Highmore) is their talkative driver. In reality, he's a British agent operating under Harry Patterson (John Hurt).

This story imagines that journey. That's the opening text and it's a mistake. Essentially, it's saying that it's fictional which is fine but it doesn't need to be proclaimed on screen. It takes some of the tension right out of the movie and the ending is already known. As for the story, it has some good turns but I almost wish for a simple inside-the-car three hander. It's the actors and it would be interesting to do My Dinner with Andre in the back seat. Spall and Meaney are great. Even Highmore is fine in doing a bumbling driver. It's a compelling what-if story for the politically-minded.

"These two are the Troubles."

The "two" are Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall), the leader of the Northern Ireland Democratic Unionist Party, and Martin McGuiness (Colm Meaney), Sinn Fein politician and IRA operative, traveling together in a fictional hour of two-handed politics, whose interaction had the outcome of peace. The Journey, meticulously directed by Nick Hamm, is superb filmmaking that illuminates history and showcases transcendent acting.

Facing off each other with Paisley's accurate condemnation of IRA violence and McGuiness's hatred of Paisley's rigid evangelical Protestantism, the two in the van on the way to the Glasgow airport dance around each other as they figure out how to survive their own arrogance and win a peace. But as we know, an accord was made back then that ended 40 years of bloodshed and a unified Northern Ireland under the combined leadership of both men.

Although actors like Toby Stephens as Tony Blair and John Hurt as Harry Patterson could command any screen at any time, Spall and Meaney are so believable as to make you forget all other performances. Their job to let you see the growing friendship by small increments is marvelous to behold.

Applause, too, must be given for a production design that commands maximum intimacy and suspenseful plot distribution: The interior of the van becomes an intimate drawing room with no diplomats or functionaries to distract from the plan at hand; the brief time to get to the airport has the properties of a digital readout in a heist movie—everyone is aware that the handshake may not happen if the van gets to the plane on time or too late.

The Journey is required for those who love first-rate acting and those who want to feel history in the making. For anyone else, it is the antidote to the summer blockbuster.

Wonderful cast in a film that could have used a better script. Timothy Spall's accent slippage irritated at times, though I realize how difficult the Northern Ireland accent is to imitate.

There were many contrivances, a walk in the forest, in a church, in a graveyard to force the final outcome of peace. And I was astonished that the retaliative murders by the RUC got short shrift versus the bombings and killings of the IRA. 6/10

I am not even halfway through and want to say this is as good a way to learn more about History than some other ways. I think they put cotton balls in Spall's mouth and a set of bad teeth! He sure hit people over the head with Jesus. Jesus wouldn't even like him!! You know carpenters!

How they try to make two hard-line ideologists into almost acceptable human forms is a mystery to me, but they do not a bad job of it. The movie works, despite some overly contrived schemes and ruses to fill up the time. In the end the grumpiness of one (and I'll leave it to you to guess who might be the grumpy one) is won over by the deceptive Irish charm of the other, and we get to what is a disarmingly simple solution to decades and decades of blood and tragedy. The main parts are well played by both protagonists and it's a film you can easily get drawn into.

I've read lots of books about iron-willed politicians and the constant theme is a refusal to compromise no matter who dies in the struggle.

This movie gives us hope that direct talk between the big shots can sometimes bring a solution that the underlings can't pull off. It doesn't always bring peace but it does give each side a chance to weigh up the opponent personally.

Thank goodness that fate allowed these guys to agree , otherwise we'd still be seeing explosions and carnage in Northern Ireland.

So strange because EVERY single Irishman I've met in my life ( and I'm part Irish myself) has been a joy to be with.

For the naysayers who don't want Trump to meet with Kim Jong Un or Putin, this film is confirmation that good things can happen on the odd occasion.

Once again, I have to apologize for my ignorance of the fine points of these men's lives, but the pictures that accompany the credits tell a tale of hope at the end of great loss. The acting was superb, great actor giving great performances (I miss John Hurt). A fine story spun from speculation. I give this film a 7 (good) out of 10. {Speculative History}

I worked in broadcast during this historical time in Northern Ireland and knew both of these men. The acting and accents, mannerisms are absolutely as spot on as it can possibly get. Colm Meaney pulls off the Derry accent very well for a Dublin man and Spall gets all the inflections of big Ian's Belfast brogue. I think both of those men would perhaps enjoy the job the filmmakers made of them: "So they would"! Definitely a movie well presented and well researched. Worth watching: So it is!

I don't at all like the portrayal of the two main protagonists.One is shown as overly strict, and the other too amiable.It wasnt very realistic in that sense. Still, it was addictive to watch.I was constantly wondering what would happen next.

I Looked forward to seeing The Journey ...But What a waste of time that was. This film should have been the monumental change in the NI series of movies. But unfortunately Nick Hamms jittery direction and lack of depth to supporting characters along with Batemans almost Monty Pythonesque silly script gave us what we should now call the Norn Oirish silly road movie genre. Ill not go into spoilers there were a few good lines By Paisley gags from Blair and McGuinness With the audience Feeling sorry for Spall and Meaney for trying to deal with this utter nonsense along with pop culture being Flung at us at every corner and sentence that Bateman could muster gently forcing the titters and groans from the faithful few. I then tried to gee myself up and wonder how I would have done this differently, the answer I eventually decided on was ....I wouldn't.... Hamm was given a dodgy script and tried his best to make that good and that was a tall order. They had a responsibility to tell a tail which changed the face of a country and they gagged it up and failed miserably.

The Journey (2016/III) was directed by Nick Hamm. It's based on the historical fact that in 2006 the Northern Ireland peace talks established a compromise solution that did, indeed, bring peace to Northern Ireland. This peace pact ended 40 years of terror and violence in that country. Again, historically, the Irish Catholic leader Martin McGuiness and the Irish Protestant Leader Ian Paisley came to an agreement that allowed peace to be established. This film represents an attempt to comprehend how this agreement came about.

In a situation like this, a movie will rise or fall depending on the acting abilities of the two leads. No problem here, because director Hamm had two brilliant actors to work with: Colm Meaney as Martin McGuinness and Timothy Spall as Ian Paisley. I think it's worth seeing the movie just to watch them act.

For me, this was an extraordinary movie. I don't know enough about the history of Northern Ireland to know how accurate or realistic the dialog was. I know enough about movies to know that two brilliant leads can produce a magical moment if they know how to act, and how to interact. That's what happened in The Journey.

We saw this movie in Rochester's excellent Little Theatre. It will work well on the small screen. The Journey had a terrible IMDb rating of 6.2. That's the weighted average, but the median is 7.0. Most raters liked the film, and some loved it. However, a significant minority hated the movie, and gave it a rating of 1. (One of the people who rated it 1 has also written a review, and I suggest you check it out.)

I noticed the same rating situation with the film Selma, although the average rating was much higher. I think that probably many films about controversial subjects will have people who hate those movies. In those cases, I check the median rating, which I believe gives a more accurate reflection of what most people thought about the movie.

In my opinion, this is a definitely a film worth seeing, and I recommend it.

I'm not sure how much fact there was in the film but it was good. The best scenes are when Coln Meany and Timothy Spall are together ineracting.

These two men travel together during the Peace talks between IRA and the Protestants .

It is an important time for Northern Ireland and Britain's history .

Regardless this is a real dull movie .

Superb cast, and an inspired way to examine the turbulent times and a "what if" situation between two of the world's leading historical figures.

I've always loved movies like this where there are minimal characters in a minimal setting. Most often it's a play that has been transposed to film... I don't know if this ever was a play, but it would transfer well to the stage.

I was in school (west coast of North America) during the 70s so Ireland was prominent in the news, and we covered it in current affairs, but like most school-taught history and history-in-the-making , it wasn't "alive" to kids on the other side of the planet. It's amazing I ever did fall in love with history! In an unrelated moment a few days ago, I discovered on Ancestry that I had some ancient Irish ancestors which I never knew about before. The last couple of days I've been online and on podcasts learning some about the history of Ireland. I've probably learned/*registered* more in the last few days than I ever knew prior. It's fortuitous that I stumbled across this movie on Netflix.

While flipping through Netflix I had gone past a bunch of things I had already seen...and completely forgotten, and I was bemoaning the quality of things available. However, *this* movie I will never forget, and I'm so glad I decided to watch it! I just finished it and I will take some quiet time to think on it some more, as well as both the folly and miracles of flawed humankind.

A beautiful movie, brilliantly constructed. And yes, I was choked up at the end.

I'm surprised this movie didn't do better in theatres.

The movie revolves around a fictional retelling of the Northern Ireland peace treaty. It tells the tale of the real life leaders Martin McGuiness and Ian Paisley finding some common ground after years of hatred. The movie doesn't choose sides in the conflict but presents puts the war in perspective: honoring the memory of your ancestors by continuing the conflict or giving your descendants hope by finding peace.

This is an excellent portrayal of two men who must look past themselves and their prejudices to build a peaceful future.

A very well told story. that made me look up more history no ire

Great acting performance from the two leads, and some enjoyable moments.

For me though the plot is contrived and not really believable enough to fully enjoy. Strangely the intellegence team (including a panicky Tony Blair) keep interrupting the action with lines like "What are they doing? Are they going to do it?" I don't know what purpose this all serves. The film has already nicely explained what is at stake at the beginning. The real story is Paisley and McGuiness, not the worries of the driver's handlers. It's quite jarring to be taken out of the main story back to this side show. The character of driver is not interesting. Perhaps someone with a personal story and a stake in the events. It's a bit odd that such a junior member of staff would be driving them, and also not know how to change a tyre. Some enjoyable scenes but I didnt find the plot credible.

Came to this film late on (2 years) i am amazed how I met this gem go past. Am of a age where I remember daily reports of IRA/UDA attacks on the news, Gerry Adams couldn't even be heard on Tv!. Great film , great script how accurate we will probably never know but how good would it have been to be in that taxi. Great acting from the two lead actors, if you have even a passing interest in history I highly recommend it to you.

I don't know much about Martin McGuiness but if what a previous reviewer claims about the two protagonists being so faithful to their subjects is true, I now have a better idea, as I'm a big fan of Colm Meany. The dialogue between the men is necessarily historic conjecture, but I would well agree that it was McGuiness who broke the ice and made the necessary concessions, and who better than Colm to pull it off. If snakes ever invade the Emerald Isle, 'twill be himself that charms them out. (Mind you, I'm not nominating him for sainthood!)

It is 2006, and the Northern Ireland peace process is underway in St Andrews, Scotland, between representatives of the British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland's political parties, in relation to the devolution of power to the region. The two largest political parties are the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) led by the Rev. Ian Paisley favouring continued union with Britain and Sinn Féin led by Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness, the Irish Republican Party wanting closer links with Ireland. Paisley and McGuinness, both crucial to the success of the peace talks had never met previously and conversed. It's a matter of public record that after an extended private meeting between the two, the talks proceeded along a path to eventual success and the forming of an unlikely political alliance between two former implacable foes. The Journey reimagines that private conversation occurring during an automobile trip to Edinburgh airport, where Dr Paisley is being driven to catch a plane home to allow him to celebrate his golden wedding anniversary. Due to political and security conventions, it is agreed that McGuinness shall accompany him, in a van driven by a British agent and rigged to be observed and listened to, by those remaining at St Andrews, unbeknownst to its two VIP occupants.

The Journey is an example of speculative historical fiction at its most entertaining. Producer/director Nick Hamm has succeeded in fashioning a fact-based fictional story which is both comprehensive, but relatively easy to understand for those not well versed in the "Northern Ireland Troubles" and at the same time is both dramatic, with surprisingly many moments of levity and injections of low-key humour.

This is an actors' movie and it's extremely pleasing to see two such fine character actors as Timothy Spall (Paisley) and Colm Meaney (McGuinness) being given the rare opportunity to both shine in lead roles. Great to see John Hurt in one of his last features, playing a significant part as British intelligence chief Harry Patterson, who has overall coordination of the van journey on behalf of the British Prime Minister played by a suitably, nervously enthusiastic, Tony Blair.

The script/dialogue has been criticised by a number of eminent critics as effectively "dumbing down" the conversation that may or may not have occurred between the two men. But in my opinion, it is pitched at entirely the right tone and philosophical levels. Overintellectualising and deepening the debate that frequently occurs, would have only made it more esoteric for an international audience and likely still raised issues of bias accusations from both sides of the political fence. As it is, we see a younger, more pragmatic, McGuinness, trying hard to bypass the far more reserved, and embedded beliefs and defence mechanisms of the fundamentalist Protestant leader, whose actions, he despises, but for whom, personally, we detect he feels a grudging respect.

In the main, the whole idea of the car trip prompting a forced dialogue between the two parties works well and given that the year was 2006, perhaps the two leaders may well not have realised they were technologically under observation, whereas today, they surely would have. The storyline does threaten to skid off the road so to speak,, when very unlikely third party interventions occur, such as the withdrawal of the accompanying security and the rather contrived episode occurring at the petrol station.

Historically we thankfully know there was a "happy ending" to the peace process and though a fictional mechanism is used, The Journey undoubtedly provides us with a balanced insight into the decades long "Troubles" in Northern Island. It also bears witness to the power and benefits of compromise between leaders, in gaining a lasting peace between the previously warring parties.

I am marking this as an amusing little story, and not a serious historical account. Very amusing, made Blair look like a complete bumbling bufoon.