Nothing Personal

I quite enjoyed this movie for two reasons. The first is that it gives an insight into the world of loyalism in northern ireland, which is very rarely treated in movies, most of which tell us about the republican struggle. The second reason is the performances of the actors. I thought they gave very honest and convincing portrayals of a very seedy underworld that not many people hear about outside my native shores.

All in all, it is an entertaining ganster movie with stellar performances from a who's who in northern irish actors cast. It wont move the earth, although it may slightly open some peoples eyes to the murky world of loyalist paramilitaries.

Belfast 1975 and the Republican and Loyalist terrorists call a ceasefire . UVF leader Leonard Wilson realises one of the men under his command is a liability to the ceasefire and orders him " to be taken care off " . Meanwhile catholic single father Liam finds himself lost in a Loyalist enclave

A couple of days ago I saw CAL after a gap of many years which instantly struck me as being the best film about The Troubles . I had very vague memories of NOTHING PERSONAL seeing it round about 1998 when it was broadcast on channel 4 late one night and not remembering much about it all . Within a short space of time the film totally gripped me due to its intelligence and had me thinking I was going to have to reevaluate my opinion of CAL which was in serious danger of being relegated to being the second best film featuring The Troubles but this didn't happen

Why not I hear you ask ? One very easy reply and that is the last ten minutes of NOTHING PERSONAL stops becoming intelligent drama and becomes teeth gnashing melodrama which relies on people doing unlikely things in order have an emotional impact on the audience as to the tragedy of life in Belfast circa 1975 . This is totally unnecessary because this audience member at least was totally caught up in the story without the need for some over the top histrionics being brought in to play in the final scenes

Unlike RESURRECTION MAN or THE GRASSCUTTER the screenplay here resists the temptation to paint loyalist terrorists are out and out villains . Of course there's no defence of the indiscriminate violence loyalist terrorists wreaked upon the catholic community and their own during the Troubles but the opening sequence features a bomb attack on a protestant bar which mirrors real life events of the time and gives an excuse for young men to flock to Loyalist terror gangs . It also makes the scathing point that despite Loyalist and Republican terrorists bombing and shooting innocent civilians the terrorist leaders all know their opposite numbers but never think of striking against their opponents

The cast are without exception excellent and the bulk of the film is carried by Ian Harte and James Frain who are English and to my untrained Scottish ears never once failed to convince me they were Belfast boys . Frain especially gives an understated performance but manages to portray an inner conflict that he may have to execute Ginger he's been ordered to . It's actually that is very good at portraying a sense of time and place which RESURRECTION MAN failed to do . Like I said this is a very good film that felt the need to over do the dramatics in the last ten minutes which while not totally ruining the film stops it from being a classic one

being a NI supporter, it's hard to objectively review a movie glorifying ulster nationalists. characters who are hard to root for, typical heavy-handed anti-violence messages, and a predictable 'poetic justice' ending makes this an awkward watch...

I saw this movie several times. I am even looking for it on vain now, on DVD or download. What I liked most is that it gives an insight in the world of the Ulster loyalists. In most movies, the NI troubles are depicted as a struggle of the noble IRA fighters against the evil British opressors. (In the name of the father, Bloody sunday, Some mother's son, Hunger,...) In a few other movies, the IRA members are depicted as ruthless terrorists (The devil's own, Patriot games). What all these movies have in common is that the loyalists are not even mentioned. Nothing Personal shows the true nature of the conflict, as a bloody and cruel gang war between the two parties, and on top of that, bloody internal conflicts in the two camps as well.

Excellent film from Thaddeus O'Sullivan featuring strong performances from a host of British and Irish actors. The film deals well with a thorny subject matter, and effectively captures the hopelessness and grim atmosphere of 1970s Belfast. Surprisingly realistic, it does nothing to glorify either side in this conflict. On one hand, it shows a young Catholic father trying to raise his family without getting drawn into the troubles. On the other it deals with a Loyalist gang who are intent on propagating violence. Very interesting and, thankfully, entertaining. Don't be expecting any laughs, though. 7 out of 10.