The Front Line

I'd be inclined to give this movie 8.5 out of 10. It is a refreshing example of a good story well told, in contrast to the contrived pap and movie-star-vehicles that spill out of Hollywood these days. It is an ambitious and brave attempt by the director/writer/producer to do something top-notch for Irish cinema. It has something to show and something to tell. The tagline is well chosen, and the theme is well resolved. The theme is that none of us knows who he is until put to the test. I found the story entirely believable.

Gleeson is something of a man with a mission who tries to do a little bit too much. He brings a racist cleaner/maintenance-man into the plot, in part to demonstrate the man's conversion to good thinking; unfortunately this is done in a way that injures the credibility of the plot, and it would be best if it could be cut entirely before the film goes on broader release.

It has been said that Gleeson has made "a hard-edged underworld thriller with a twist", and he has indeed. It has also been said that "everything happens a little too quickly and Gleeson might have slowed things down to build characters and relationships rather than show them in flashback later on, when it's too late, and we've already decided if we like or dislike those involved". That is particularly true of McSorley's character; a little more time and finesse would have gone a long way toward establishing the basis of his empathy with Joe Yumba.

Gleeson's screenplay is remarkably original, and worth seeing for that reason alone. He spent six weeks in the Democratic Republic of Congo in early 2004, meeting people who had been in similar situations. He also researched the ongoing conflict in the State, which has resulted in the deaths of as many as five million people, from horrific acts of brutality.

The showdown between Joe and the gangsters on the capital's Henry Street is a particular highlight, and a piece of modern Irish cinema at its best.

The Front Line has been described elsewhere as "a refreshing, character-driven alternative to the shallow comedies, thrill-less thrillers and bum-numbing budget-chewing two-hour-plus epics currently clogging up your local cinema schedules." So it is. It is not perfect, but its good points far outweigh its bad points, and it is more than a cut above the average. Hopefully Gleeson will go on to do more and better.

What starts off looking like a routine action thriller about a bank heist gradually becomes something much more. Eriq Ebouaney is a security guard at a bank, whose family is kidnapped to force him to assist in the robbery.

The film is in many respects a revisiting of the John Wayne/John Ford classic The Searchers, in that the viewer gradually realizes that the ostensible plot (the bank robbery) is not really at the center of the film. Just as in The Searchers, where the film is really about Wayne's search to find his own humanity and not his niece who has been captured by the Comanches, so too in The Front Line, Ebouaney's pursuit to rescue his family is his search to find his own redemption as a human being. Over the course of the film, because of the fine performances and direction, we are drawn into Ebouaney's internal pain and love, and we almost want to say to him "Be at peace. Your soul is good." This is a remarkable and moving film. Successful on many levels. Ebouaney's performance is stunning. The plot, which begins as a bank robbery, becomes a story that is breathtakingly beautiful, powerful, and unforgettable.

I've watched some films this year really expecting, and hoping, they would be good. Some met my expectations, some exceeded them and some fell short. I had not heard of this film; but it was the most unexpected joy since Everything Is Illuminated (2005).

It succeeds on so many levels. As a thriller is gripped me from the first beat to the last. The characters were well-rounded, believable and performances, especially by Ebouaney, McSorley and N'Diaye were superb. Where had these actors come from? I to search IMDb to convince myself they were acting! I don't know much about Congolese politics, but the back story was completely believable and horrifying in equal measure. "Documentary" shots and montages worked well to reinforce this. And it made me want to learn more and reconsider my thoughts on the "problem" of "their" immigration. Whoever "they" may be.

In response to world events, some films in recent years have rightly focused on international politics, the communication between people within and between different nations. And Crash did very well, hence Babel, both of which I enjoyed.

But this film achieves more than what both of the above did and on a fraction of the budget! I'd never heard of David Gleeson, but his writing and direction was superb. I will definitely be renting the whole of his back catalogue - and buying this DVD. Please put lots of extras on it David! In summary, I was blown away by the performances of the actors, the detail and complexity of the script and the way in which the subject matter was handled. To come across such a film from left-field was a joy and a rare pleasure. I hope it reflects positively on the CV's of all involved and we see much more of them, as they deserve it.

Great job David and all involved.

This isn't a bad attempt at an Irish crime movie. While James Frain hams it up as a baddie, Eric Ebouaney is very watchable as an asylum seeker looking to settle in the city. He is man with a secret just trying to get by and escape his past in the Congo. His wife and son arrive to be with him, but all is not what it seems. Taking a job as a security guard at a bank, he is soon in the thick of it, the victim of a from the headlines tiger kidnapping. When things go awry as they invariably do in this genre piece, there is hell to pay. Getting into bed with a gang of African racketeers – a first in an Irish film – the film subtly examines the plight of a refugee in an alien country, albeit against a heightened backdrop. The performances from Ebouaney and Hakeem Kae Kazim are good, though the Irish characters, particularly the police, are a little stiff. Camera-work is good and the soundtrack contemporary. The twist at the end is okay. Certainly an improvement on the director's first outing Cowboys and Angels. Warning: Brendan Gleeson is not in this film.

The world is changing. Ireland used to be a place where people starved and dispersed around the globe in hope of a better life. Today people from troubled faraway lands come to Ireland to seek sanctuary. But sometimes there is no sanctuary to be found, the perils are following wherever we go. This powerful movie was advertised as a thriller, but the thrills that this story provides in abundance are of a different kind.The suffering of genocide victims in Congo or any other place on earth is unimaginable. Hollywood with its contrivances can not possibly match the shocking occurrences that life can impose on some poor souls. The Irish filmmakers took a different path, of compassion and sorrow and it filled our hearts with sincere emotions. Most of all thanks to a amazing performance of little known Eriq Ebouaney. His quiet, dignified presence spoke more than a million words.