Some Mother's Son

S0ME MOTHER'S SON is one of the most accurate depictions about the ordinary families caught up in the turmoil and oppression of Northern Ireland. The characters are loosely based on real persons living today, who were caught up in the Great Hunger Strike of 1981. (I know Annie, the Fionnula Flanagan character personally) The British injustice and oppression, portrayed is accurate and no ones imagination, it continues today. Helen Mirren captures the true spirit of the indomitable Irish women, the true heroes of Ireland. Fionnula Flanagan's character is brilliant, and often steals the scene from Ms. Mirren. It has little character insights typical of women of Ulster. Want an accurate movie, about the gallant people of Northern Ireland? this is it! It makes no apologies for the I.R.A.(refreshing.) The I.R.A. may be a grey area to some, but SOME MOTHERS SON shows the viewer that there wouldn't be an I.R.A. if there wasn't British oppression.

It was great to see Aiden Gillen, who I first encountered in the British version of Queer as Folk, in a much meatier, more difficult role. Also this is another terrific performance, as always by Helen Mirren. A very moving and sad film.

Its ashame that more people don't know about this subject. I found this film to be very touching with a very strong moral. Yes the movie is about the I.R.A. and some of its most famous 'soldiers', however, the film touched on who is affected by these actions. I don't agree with the I.R.A but found myself empathetic to the families of the prisoners involved. Despite what the previous poster stated, this movie was pre-911 and touches not on the terrorists acts, but on the consquences of their actions. Helen Mirren was brilliant in this movie, as always. Its not exactley Michael Collins on the subject, and a lot of it was 'glamorized' for Hollywood, but all in all worth watching.

The music from "Some Mother's Son", composed and conducted by Bill Whelan, is hauntingly beautiful. Eleanor McEvoy's vocal on "The Seabird" is outstanding.

However, it is too bad the storyline in the movie doesn't match the quality of the music. Quite frankly, the movie was boring!

Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanagan give first rate performances as the mothers (Kathleen Quigley and Annie Higgins) of two IRA terrorists imprisoned following a rocket attack on British soldiers. David O'Hara (Frank Higgins) plays the hard core murderer who appears to enjoy killing the British. Aiden Gillen is Gerard Quigley, the unlikely terrorist, who aids his friend Higgins in the attack. O'Hara and Gillen are very believable in their roles. In fact all of the actors are good.

The problem is with the storyline and lack of action after the initial rocket attack and subsequent capture of Higgins and Quigley. The scene involving the IRA's retaliation murder of the Maze prison guards happens far too quickly for the viewer to understand what is going on. And let's face, watching people starve to death is not very exciting.

I still gave this movie 6 out of 10, because of the fine acting and music.

Irish44

While it is difficult to separate oneself from the politics of "the troubles" I think its important to keep in mind that this is a film, not a documentary. Its goal is to be historically authentic, not accurate. The message is one that speaks to mothers on all sides of the political divide. I think that one of the reviewers unfortunately missed the point of the movie which is featured in the title.

As a film this is an incredibly moving portrait of the horror, sacrifice and absurdity of war. The cast is outstanding; Helen Mirren is simply stunning, Fionnula Flanagan gives a powerful performance, Aidan Gillen is stirring as Helen Mirren's son and Bobby Sands' cell mate and finally John Lynch portrays the role of Bobby Sands quite fairly. The writers and director Terry George and Jim Sheridan have done an outstanding job writing and filming a story that transcends conflict and speaks to humanity we all share. While it shows the injustice of the position from which many of the North Ireland Catholics faced (and therein lies its political slant) the title firmly roots this film as so much more. I highly recommend this film for its historical authenticity and the brilliant performance by Helen Mirren.