Titanic Town

There's nothing wrong with action blockbusters.

But too many ppl watching an indy historical docudrama based on a specific time in history, based on real people, based on events that actuallly occurred, complaining essentially what is wrong with the movie is: it's not Hollywood.

It's historical.

It's a docudrama.

It's based on real people.

It's based on real events.

If you want an action movie, don't complain that a historical docudrama isn't.

This is a powerful window into a reality that could all too easily happen to anyone. Armed soldiers having actual shootouts on manicured lawns in suburbia - during daytime hours while kids are walking to and from school, playing on the playgrounds, etc. Your own government freely searching the homes of you and all your neightbors solely because the IRA was fighting them in the streets in your neighborhood. No judge. No search warrant. Hauling ppl off to interrogation based on nothing more than the fact they lived in an area the IRA was shooting up.

Basically, the equivalent of trying to live your life in the middle of No Man's Land during WWI.

Ppl who find this to be boring, to lack drama, to lack intrigue, have obviously spent too much time on fiction, not enough thinking about if it was their father hauled away. If it was their brother who received a head injury by an angry mob. The movie isn't really an 8, but raising my score a little to offset the complaints that it's not something it never claimed to be.

Not marking this as spoilers. It's historical events. You should have a rough idea of the basic overarching events already. If you don't know which side eventually got their way, go read a book.

Oh dear not yet another black comedy featuring the troubles in Northern Ireland . Haven't we seen enough of these type of stories on television ? Do we also have to endure them turning up at film festivals and cinema chains ?

Sorry if I've got a serious problem with this type of story but it's a medium best suited for television written by someone of the calibre of Graham Reid ( Check out the author's BILLY trilogy from the 1980s ) and the problem with TITANIC TOWN is that the script is far too obvious . A mother in a republican estate of Belfast in the 1970s decides she's had enough of the violence and stands up for the peaceful majority . It's the type of story that's supposed to have the audience angry one moment , weeping the next and smiling a moment later . Unfortunately what we get is cyphers giving speeches followed by silly things then back to the speeches again . It's always the innocent who suffer from political violence , thanks for pointing that out because I didn't know . YAWN

"Titanic Town" is the real-life story of Bernie McPhelimy, a Belfast mother who was the driving force behind an anti-violence initiative of the 1970's. (The film draws its name from its city of location, where the "Titanic" was built at the Harland & Wolff shipyards.) Bernie is a witness to several military raids within both her neighborhood and her own home. The film shows how her feelings of indignancy are ignited and herself propelled--rather too quickly--into a spiral of Irish politics and intrigue. "Titanic Town" does an excellent job of demonstrating how one's own emotions, the news media and circumstantial events work to transform an ordinary individual into a national controversy. Performances by Julie Walters (as Bernie McPhelimy), newcomer Nuala O'Neill (as her daughter), and Ciaran McMenamin (as an IRA activist) are particularly well done. Strong supporting work is given by Ciaran Hinds, as Bernie's spent and sickly husband. Adeptly directed by Roger Michell ("Notting Hill"), "Titanic Town" may be somewhat dated from a topical standpoint, but its presentation of the Irish conflict in most human of terms makes it a more than worthy watch. It is a brave story, about a brave (if somewhat belligerent) people, which will elicit compassion, sympathy and respect from nearly any viewer.

Very good film about Northern Ireland and the early troubles. Excellent acting by Nuala O'Neill and especially Julie Walter who not only carried the accent well but acted superbly also. Thankfully unlike so many other films based on the troubles in NI this one shows a realistic view of events. Highly recommended.

I saw this at the 1998 Montreal Film Festival and found it a moving and challenging film on the complexities of personal and political response to a longstanding and divisive issue. Well acted and cinematographed, this film added a dimension that has been rarely touched upon in other depictions of the "troubles in Northern Ireland." It compliments "Every Mother's Son" and "In the Name of the Father" with a moving story of the long-lasting and indiscriminate effects of violence and an attempt to question its limits as a political strategy. This is not a simplistic film, and its power comes from the depth of its critique of all the players in this ongoing political struggle.