Un viaje por la paz

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.

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 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!

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.