The Journey

It's 2006. Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern have gathered both sides of the Northern Ireland conflict to negotiate the eventual Good Friday Agreement. Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) is the rigid firebrand loyalist preacher. Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) is the public face of the IRA. They represent the far sides of the conflict and have never spoken with each other. Ian needs to return home for his 50th wedding anniversary. Martin insists on joining him as protocol and more importantly, as the last chance to talk to him man-to-man with the only hope to get a yes to the agreement. Jack (Freddie Highmore) is their talkative driver. In reality, he's a British agent operating under Harry Patterson (John Hurt).

This story imagines that journey. That's the opening text and it's a mistake. Essentially, it's saying that it's fictional which is fine but it doesn't need to be proclaimed on screen. It takes some of the tension right out of the movie and the ending is already known. As for the story, it has some good turns but I almost wish for a simple inside-the-car three hander. It's the actors and it would be interesting to do My Dinner with Andre in the back seat. Spall and Meaney are great. Even Highmore is fine in doing a bumbling driver. It's a compelling what-if story for the politically-minded.

Wonderful cast in a film that could have used a better script. Timothy Spall's accent slippage irritated at times, though I realize how difficult the Northern Ireland accent is to imitate.

There were many contrivances, a walk in the forest, in a church, in a graveyard to force the final outcome of peace. And I was astonished that the retaliative murders by the RUC got short shrift versus the bombings and killings of the IRA. 6/10

Greetings again from the darkness. Only the rarest of fiction can match the depth and intensity of historically crucial watershed moments. A list of such moments would certainly include the 2006 St. Andrews Agreement that ended 40 years of violent civil war between the Unionist and Republican factions of Northern Ireland. Director Nick Hamm and writer Colin Bateman team up to bring us a speculative dramatization of the conversation that 'might' have led to the treaty.

Timothy Spall plays Reverend Ian Paisley, leader of the Unionists and an anti-Catholic evangelical minister. Colm Meaney plays Martin McGuinness, the rebellious former IRA leader ("allegedly", he clarifies) who leads the Irish Republicans (Sinn Fein). These two extremists have been at war for most of their lives, yet had never met until circumstances brought them together for negotiations.

One's take on the film will likely be determined by the level of need for historical accuracy and any personal connection to long-lasting war in Northern Ireland. Either of these traits will likely have you scoffing at the backseat verbal sparring and the plot contrivances that allow the two mortal enemies to slowly break down the ideological barriers. On the other hand, it can be viewed as a mis-matched buddy movie featuring a game of witty one-upmanship with political and historical relevance.

Either way, the dueling actors are a pleasure to watch. Mr. Spall surely has the more theatrical role, and he revels in the buttoned-up judgmental nature of Paisley – a man loyal enough to be attending his 50th wedding anniversary party, and sufficiently devoted to his beliefs that his last visit to a movie theatre was in 1973 as he led the protests against The Exorcist. In contrast, Mr. Meaney plays McGuinness as both determined to find common ground and worn down by the years of fighting and lack of progress.

Toby Stephens plays Prime Minister Tony Blair, while Freddie Highmore is the young driver charged with surreptitiously igniting conversation between the two rivals. He is fed instructions through his ear-piece by an MI5 director played by John Hurt, in one of his final film appearances. Unfortunately, this bit of "narration" came across as condescending to this viewer who surely could have done without such elementary guidance. Still, the sight of Mr. Hurt on film is always welcome.

The infusion of humor is nearly non-stop. There's a comical exchange about Samuel L. Jackson, a joke about the Titanic, and a Paisley diatribe at a gas station over a declined credit card that would easily fit in most any Hollywood buddy flick. However, these elements undermine one of the early on screen interviews we see when a citizen states bombs going off as you walk down the street is "part of life". "You can almost taste the hatred" is a great line, but unfortunately doesn't match the script of what we witness on screen. The two men re-hash some key events such as 1972's Bloody Sunday, and it's these moments that remind us just how important this new agreement was to the country. It's understandable (and relevant today) how 40 years of hate can become a way of life and difficult to end, and it also shows us just how far actual communication can go in finding common ground between folks … even The Chuckles Brothers.

Very nicely shot, written, directed and acted, this is almost a one-of-a-kind treatment of an imagined journey - involving two of modern English/Irish histories most controversial political & personal opposites. It's an almost Shakespearian interaction between two powerful men of contemporary social influence - heading on a crash course that will either ignite or defuse a shockingly long running bloody civil war. Is it treated too lightly? (as some might suggest) or is it safe to assume that both these aging men knew it was now or never - the time had come! Stop the bloodshed, stop the negative destruction of their country, begin to heal and live again, united. Great Irish locations (standing in for Scotland) and music score add much to this entertaining tour de force-musing on what might have happened.

I may also go so far to say that prolific british composer, Steve Warbeck's rather potent & melodious score, was actually worthy of a larger project than this (as was his 2001 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin') Some composers don't seem to get the right commissions to grace their above average work. At least he's added handsomely to this thoroughly entertaining venture.

Great acting performance from the two leads, and some enjoyable moments.

For me though the plot is contrived and not really believable enough to fully enjoy. Strangely the intellegence team (including a panicky Tony Blair) keep interrupting the action with lines like "What are they doing? Are they going to do it?" I don't know what purpose this all serves. The film has already nicely explained what is at stake at the beginning. The real story is Paisley and McGuiness, not the worries of the driver's handlers. It's quite jarring to be taken out of the main story back to this side show. The character of driver is not interesting. Perhaps someone with a personal story and a stake in the events. It's a bit odd that such a junior member of staff would be driving them, and also not know how to change a tyre. Some enjoyable scenes but I didnt find the plot credible.