When the Sky Falls

(2000) When The Sky Falls THRILLER/ DRAMA

Initially a made-for-TV movie, now available on DVD starring Joan Allen as Irish crime-investigating reporter Sinead Hamilton, investigating the death of a person named Martin Shaughnessy, and his connection to the IRA as well as other unethical practices regarding drugs being sold to minor children. Although, it's based on an actual person, at least 75% of the movie has been fabricated, particularly the scenes how some of Dublin's police are being treated by the criminal public. In this movie, people can be assaulted and still get away with it, since it's the ridiculous my-word-against-yours sort of thing. And women are allowed to get assaulted by men with criminal records for trespassing, for the movie is so ludicrous, we don't even get to witness the court proceedings about how some people are able to get away from it- only that they're able to beat the system. If it wasn't for Joan Allen's acting this movie would've been too unbearable to watch.

Journalists in films are cliches . They`re always shown as crusaders setting the world to right whatever the cost to themselves . This is a totally cliched portrayal as some of the worst vermin breathing are journalists , many of whom are driven by greed and ego and will print absolutely anything to sell newspapers , they`re not too bothered what they print just as long as it it ties in with a misguided editorial line and sells a few more copies , and that`s the problem I had with WHEN THE SKY FALLS , its heroine Sinead Hamilton is shown trying to take on Dublin`s drug dealers almost single handed .

I also had a problem with the black and white characterisation , everyone is either a nasty piece of work or a victim , the exception being MacKay played very well by Patrick Bergin who`s a sort of Dublin equvilent of Jack Regan or Frank Burnside who`s not below bending the rules to get results . He`s by far the most interesting character in a film that suffers from a rather shaky view of drugs . Smack addicts are shown to be hapless victims at the mercy of their dealers , but is this actually true ? I was under the impression that many addicts also sell drugs in real life in order to pay for their addiction , not as shown here selling paintings to tourists . And there`s no real attempt to address the wider issues of drugs and what to do about the problem in this film . As one reviewer has touched upon WHEN THE SKY FALLS tries to be a straightforward thriller and a socially aware film at the same time and by doing so it fails in trying two things at once.

WHEN THE SKY FALLS isn`t a bad film , in fact it was probably the best one I saw that night , but the other movies I saw were THE MUMMY RETURNS , SPECIES 2 and CODE RED so the competition wasn`t up to much . Hopefully next time someone makes a film dealing with drugs they might like to take the unpopular view that people volunteer to become addicts , a point TRAINSPOTTING made very well

Having watched this *after* seeing the more recent Veronica Guerin (2003), I can only say: don't bother with this one if you want the real story. While this is an interesting story, they must have been hampered by lawyers as it uses precisely no real names and leaves you wondering if it was all made up. Sadly (or thankfully, depending on how you look at it) it wasn't made up, but see Cate Blanchett playing Guerin for real and you'll get a much better idea of what happened.

Based on the life and shocking murder of real Irish crime reporter, Veronica Guerin, Joan Allen gives a solid performance as gutsy Sunday Globe hack Sinead Hamilton.

John Mackenzie's film remains largely faithful to its real life inspiration's story and does not hold back on the brutality of the Dublin underworld. Nothing is spared from the slaying of Pete Postlethwaite's Martin Cahill style character Shaughnessy to the chilling death of a young heroin addict in a Dublin nightclub. Funded by Rupert Murdoch's Sky Movies channel in the UK, the movie sometimes struggles to overcome its tight budget and the made for television feel. However in 'The Long Good Friday' director's capable hands, it often succeeds particularly with a spectacular car chase through the centre of Dublin.

Where the film really scores is in its supporting performances - most notably, Jimmy Smallhorne as Hamilton's underworld confidante, Ruairi Conroy as a heroin addict, Liam Cunningham and Postlethwaite as old school crooks and particularly, Gerard Flynn as Hamilton's nemesis Hackett and Gavin Kielty as the skinhead, Tattoo. Mackenzie also somehow manages to wring out decent performances from Patrick Bergin as the frustrated cop, Mackey and Jason Barry as his partner.

If there are drawbacks it is the flatness of the relationship between Hamilton and her husband (Kevin McNally) - oddly reminiscent of the relationship between Lacey and her husband in Cagney and Lacey. The newspaper scenes are also a bit hackneyed - bearing little resemblance to real life newsrooms.

A superior film to Dublin crime pics, Ordinary Decent Criminal and The Vicious Circle, it still falls short of the visual, narrative and performing heights of John Boorman's The General. Nevertheless, When the Sky Falls is still good entertainment and one of the more honest biopics you are likely to see in cinemas this year. It will be interesting to see how this film travels beyond Ireland where Guerin's death caused so much outrage.

From the opening scenes this film brought back the memories of shocking headlines from the recent past through which we have lived. Fictionalised maybe, but very close to the reality. Each scene struck home. These were our headlines. This was Dublin in the grip of drug barons. This is how it was. A wonderful cast brought it all to life again. If I have a minus note it is that the names were changed. I wonder why, but I suppose there may have been legal reasons. We in Dublin know the real names. The criminlas are now behind bars. This is a story of our time. It should be compulsory viewing for all. For the lawless that they be warned. For the lawful that they may never forget. It was a great American who said that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance!