Michael Collins

Fiction heavy bio-pic of the man who lived and died for Irish independence.

History on film is a difficult beast at the best of times and no one - and I mean no one - could produce an uncontentious film about Michael Collins: The Irish rebel rouser and politician who helped (the key word) form the first Irish Free State.

Sadly writer/director Neil Jordan takes the view that the history book can be tossed away if it goes against his own agenda or hampers audience sympathy. He created a stick for reviewers to hit him with - and boy did the blows rain down on his head. These blows, alone, might have killed any chance this "difficult" film had at the box office.

(It went down like a lead balloon in America which shows that behind the bluster and flag waving most Irish-American's aren't really interested in their own history.)

If only they had stuck more closely to the uncontested facts film writers would have focused on the good things. Which include excellent cinematography (good use of filters) and first class performances from all bar the all-at-sea (and mostly unneeded) Julia Roberts.

A perfect example of the Hollywood of today: All perfect teeth and good looks, but no ability to do characters or accents. I actually cringed while she was speaking in her "Irish" accent!

(The producers don't help much either by dressing her in a range of expensive outfits that change between shots: Destroying any sense of her being a poor country girl! Indeed scenes of poverty seems to be avoided rather than played upon.)

Liam Neeson was born to play Collins both physically and temperamentally, a dream part for him. There isn't a second that I don't believe in him. Shame there isn't more parts like this for him to play.

I don't mind my country being the bad guy in this movie, because we deserve it. What we did in Ireland will always be a stain on our history, but where is the context? The two countries have always been closely intertwined - not only due to geography but also due to wealth and technology reasons.

Also to be understood is that British troops had no experience of civil war or terrorism. They had been fighting wars against a uniformed enemy that stood in front of them. The people that joined up were often criminals or people that couldn't find alternative employment; or even wanted a bit of adventure in their lives.

Here their enemy dressed in civilian clothes and shot at them in the street (often from point blank range) and then ran. The people they killed were often Irish police or suspected informers. It was very ugly, but it was ugly on both sides.

There was also plenty of infighting (of the literal variety) that was more about gangsterism than Irish politics: A side road this film doesn't want to wander down.

The film also takes the view that "violence was the only path." South African apartheid crashed without the blacks winning any kind of civil war - indeed theirs probably extended the run of the white elite. Times move on, to quote Ghandi, "all tyrannies must fall.... however strong they appear at the time."

Despite everything this is an important film and Neil Jordan's best so far. It has too many little truths about power and real politics to be ignored easily and it does expose one "Irish hero" as a weasel. Watch the film to see which one.

A lot of responsibility fell on Neil Jordan's shoulders making this. It is a one-off deal. It isn't like a book, there won't be another Michael Collins film next year. More people - world-wide- will gain information about him from this film than any other medium. Therefore the hodgepodge mix of fact and fiction makes me uneasy - especially when so many of the debates and politics that are raised here are still ongoing.

I saw this first in the now defunct Capitol Cineplex in Cork. I was surprised to see so many senior citizens in the cinema. The cineplex was so scummy it had to be something special to draw them in. Some of them might have been old enough to remember the civil war or at least to have had a close family member killed in it. Many of them were clearly moved by it particularly the end with its archive footage. It is a moving film, but you have to be careful.

One should never confuse history with entertainment and this is not a history lesson. All the major events are there, but there is a horrible bias from the director. I don't like DeValera or what he stood for, but what was hinted at the end in this movie is a travesty. If such a thing is true, you have to prove it, you can't slyly hint at it. There are other insidious things such as mortars and car-bombs which are clear reference to the 1970s-90s Northern conflict. Such weapons did not exist in 1916. To me this is an oblique way of implying that the Provos are somehow the legitimate heirs of the IRA in 1916 which of course they are not.

Despite this I enjoyed the movie a lot. The production values and acting was so good, it really felt like a timewarp. Neil Jordan is a great director, Neeson and Rickman are superb in their parts. Rickman looks so much like DeValera it is uncanny. I even liked Julia Roberts. It looks like she made a fair attempt at a Dun Laoghaire accent and of course it sounded phony. Southside Dublin accents all sound phoney to me anyway so I didn't mind. The best moment was the scene where Collins starts the civil war sitting behind a howitzer aimed at the Four Courts and fires. You can see a huge explosion and bits coming out portico. I actually felt scared that they had damaged this famous Dublin landmark. This won't mean much to someone from overseas, but anyone familiar with the Four Courts and the resident lawyers (sorry "barristers") in their eighteenth century costumes would surely enjoy firing an artillery piece at the overpaid clowns. I wish I had a howitzer like that.

This is a very touching film. I was shocked to see the IMDb score of 6.8. The only major fault of this film is Julia Roberts. She really takes a wonderful film and turns it down a few notches. She can't keep an Irish accent, switching back and forth with her American accent throughout the duration of the film.

Anyway, Michael Collins is great to watch. The story is heartfelt, and the nuances between personal battles and patriotic duty are displayed in a very mature fashion - - to what extent will you go for your country? What will you lose? Who will you fight? Why will you do any of it? Who are your true friends? etc.

The music is FANTASTIC. Worth renting just for the listen. Of course Neison is great. So is Aidin Quinn (when I first saw this movie I thought Quinn was Irish given his name and his performance here). Alan Rickman is Alan Rickman - - which is great, though he doesn't pull off the Irish thing too well. However, given his character, Eamon de Valera, it isn't really a miscast, just takes time to get in.

If you can ignore how horrible Julia Roberts is and think about the heart and emotion behind this film while enjoying the awesome score you're in for a treat. A jewel in the rough. (my favorites)

What worries me about films based on historical characters and events, is that a lot of people take them at face value and accept them as fact whereas very few of them are completely accurate, and this film is no exception. However, despite the inaccuracies and speculations, it's a good film. Liam Neeson in particular gives a great performance in the title role, really bringing the complexities of the character to life. Rickman is also good as DeValera. Julia Roberts is horribly miscast and I can only think she was in it to boost box office ratings - although I would have hardly thought that necessary with Neeson and Rickman as the main characters. To be fair her character was pretty superfluous anyway and only included to add some romantic interest.

Overall it's worth a watch, although if you really want to know about the British/Irish conflict read a book!

I really enjoyed this film. I didn't enjoy Julia Roberts in it and thought that was about the worst attempt at an Irish accent I had ever heard. Being British and a Protestant, I didn't know how I would feel about the film, but I found it very enlightening. It has really changed my views on the British position on Ireland. The bloodshed and death seems so wasteful. Michael Collins seems like a very brave man and I think the worst decision De Valera made was not going himself and negotiating for the independence of Ireland. That was a very cowardly decision to send Collins. He was not a negotiator and De Valera would have done better, and that seemed like a very cowardly move. Anyway, the film really opened my eyes and gave me some perspective. I lived in Northern Ireland for five years and I am a Protestant, but to see what my people did in Ireland is really shameful. Nevertheless, a very enjoyable film.