Some Mother's Son

It was great to see Aiden Gillen, who I first encountered in the British version of Queer as Folk, in a much meatier, more difficult role. Also this is another terrific performance, as always by Helen Mirren. A very moving and sad film.

I saw this film when it first came out but after reading two rather diverse but equally recommended books on the subject ("Ten men dead" by David Beresford and "Nor Meekly serve my time" Edited by Brian Campbell, Laurence McKeown and Felim O'Hagen) , I figured I'd like to see it again.

The story portrayed in the film echoes the 2nd book in particular so closely at times that I expected to see the three men credited (They were actually H Block prisoners who took part in the protest and hunger strikes themselves). Of course from that perspective it is understandable that some would claim that it tends towards bias or discriminates towards a one sided view on a very complex issue.

The reality of the film is that whilst the majority of the characters save Bobby Sands are fictional, many of them, with just a little background reading are recognisable as real life people such as Fr Denis Faul, Bik McFarlane, "The Mounain Climber" and a composite of Gerry Adams/Danny Morrison.

It is a charge fairly frequently levelled at Jim Sheridan that he embellishes or takes liberty with factual real events such as in Michael Collins or In America - However, that is usually levelled by someone with an obvious axe to grind or viewing from an opposite perspective. So whilst it is desirable for a good film to document even real facts in an understandable way in less than two hours it is also nice to be entertained and have your curiosity aroused so that you can read further on the subject if you so desire. Some Mothers Son is probably one of these types of movies where the viewer's experience and insight is best enhanced by prior knowledge or at least some background of the events which out of necessity the film is compelled to synopsise and simplify some times.

The facts surrounding this turbulent period in Northern Irish history is that after a prolonged "dirty protest" to be recognised as prisoners of war instead of criminals or terrorists, in 1981 the republican H-Block prison inmates embarked on a hunger strike which by the time it had ended some 6 months later had seen ten of them die but more significantly for the republican movement in NI had seen a wider world focus on them and also had seen a new dawn towards the use of the ballot box instead of the Armalite assault rifle as a means to an end by Sin Fein/IRA which 25 years later is culminating in an electorally strong Sinn Fein and a decommissioned largely stood down IRA.

All in all therefore, as a pen picture which goes some way towards giving one a basic insight into the Northern Ireland Hunger strike of 1981 it does a good job which is greatly helped by very good performances by Helen Mirren, Fionnula O Flanigan Gerald McSorley and John Lynch in particular. Oh and if the soundtrack sounds vaguely familiar it may be because it is by Bill Whelan of Riverdance fame.

break, break, break, on thy cold grey stones, oh sea

I saw this movie when it first came out, and just watched it again last night. I still feel that it's an important movie, and also that everyone in the audience except for me <insert smile here> is missing the point. It's not about the right or wrong of the IRA/Sinn Fein or Thatcher's administration, it's about a more-or-less unprecedented friendship that evolves between two sons' mothers, and how they deal with their sons' impending self-imposed deaths, a friendship that quite suddenly excludes class issues, precisely because it is about _mother's sons_.

This is evoked in many subtle ways: Mrs Quigley's daughter leaves her job at the bank because no one trusts her after her brother has been arrested, and ends up tending bar somewhere outside North Ireland -- rather declassee for a young woman who'd been working in a bank; Mrs Higgins lives her life on a bicycle, gets a driving lesson on the sea-strand from Mrs Quigley, and they both end up getting saved from an incoming tide by British/North Irish soldiers. If you check the screenplay, you can see the change in the use of forenames and last names between the two women -- it's unfair to expect Yanks to pick that up. I can't even begin to explain it to my friends, and hell, I live in a border state.

There's a unifying theme in this movie and it's the sea: the sea the mothers are connected to, and that their sons are not permitted to see.

While it is difficult to separate oneself from the politics of "the troubles" I think its important to keep in mind that this is a film, not a documentary. Its goal is to be historically authentic, not accurate. The message is one that speaks to mothers on all sides of the political divide. I think that one of the reviewers unfortunately missed the point of the movie which is featured in the title.

As a film this is an incredibly moving portrait of the horror, sacrifice and absurdity of war. The cast is outstanding; Helen Mirren is simply stunning, Fionnula Flanagan gives a powerful performance, Aidan Gillen is stirring as Helen Mirren's son and Bobby Sands' cell mate and finally John Lynch portrays the role of Bobby Sands quite fairly. The writers and director Terry George and Jim Sheridan have done an outstanding job writing and filming a story that transcends conflict and speaks to humanity we all share. While it shows the injustice of the position from which many of the North Ireland Catholics faced (and therein lies its political slant) the title firmly roots this film as so much more. I highly recommend this film for its historical authenticity and the brilliant performance by Helen Mirren.

The music from "Some Mother's Son", composed and conducted by Bill Whelan, is hauntingly beautiful. Eleanor McEvoy's vocal on "The Seabird" is outstanding.

However, it is too bad the storyline in the movie doesn't match the quality of the music. Quite frankly, the movie was boring!

Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan give first rate performances as the mothers (Kathleen Quigley and Annie Higgins) of two IRA terrorists imprisoned following a rocket attack on British soldiers. David O'Hara (Frank Higgins) plays the hard core murderer who appears to enjoy killing the British. Aiden Gillen is Gerard Quigley, the unlikely terrorist, who aids his friend Higgins in the attack. O'Hara and Gillen are very believable in their roles. In fact all of the actors are good.

The problem is with the storyline and lack of action after the initial rocket attack and subsequent capture of Higgins and Quigley. The scene involving the IRA's retaliation murder of the Maze prison guards happens far too quickly for the viewer to understand what is going on. And let's face, watching people starve to death is not very exciting.

I still gave this movie 6 out of 10, because of the fine acting and music.

Irish44