The Renegade

I went to see this expecting it to be the usual anti-English "begod and begorragh" Hollywood nonsense. It pleasantly surprised me. I heard it described as a "potato western" as opposed to a "spaghetti western" and that sort of describes it. A high plains drifter in the rains of Connemara avenging his slain family but with a difference. I wanted to criticise the Irish/ Gaelic used in it....but I couldn't. It was fluid and believable though I felt the lead actor James Frecheville's "Irish" was a bit too "good Dublin school" rather than natural Gaeltacht. What a surprise to learn he isn't Irish at all and that he learned Irish for the part !. Kudos. His accent in English completely fooled me.....I would have sworn he was Irish.....totally amazed to learn he's Australian ! The only bit I can criticise about this film is the "starving" peasentry looked a bit too well fed.....though some of the kids do look scrawny and the safety glass and door handle in the Pub door in the last scene is a bit of a continuity screw up.....other than that it's a stylish film well made and very believable.

Just watched Black 47 tonight in West Belfast with a hushed audience. A story about injustice and famine and how comradeship can redeem the evil in man. A dark and emotional film which will make you cry - and whoop as some of the culprits are served justice by a man of the people.

There is a lot in this that reminds me of elements of the movie First Blood. However this is set in Ireland in the 1800's during the potato famine.

I'm an Englishman and i have to say, i absolutely support the people of Ireland against the English in this. The way the English behaved toward that people of Ireland is abhorrent to me. I would and do fully side with the Irish on their right to own their own land, to be free, but them, we're more alike than we realise since we were both the victims of Norman Monarchs and their descendants.

Anyhow, politics aside, this is a really moving and gripping action/revenge story. The acting is great. Yes the concept is black and white, a bit cliched, but the execution is brilliant. Cast, well, it has Hugo Weaving so we're off to a solid start and the cast does work well.

The English Captain is a bit of a cliched plum, but hey, somebody has to be the bad guy and the English aristocracy were.

Really gritty, solid movie. Both entertaining and moving. Very enjoyable to watch. The only downside is it reminds us all how badly the poor Irish of the time are treated and that is something kids in the UK should learn about and be ashamed of.

This story set in a times of dark history is engaging. I feel for the protagonist, I think he is a hero. It also reminds me of how lucky I am to be alive, and not have to worry about food or shelter.

A great script, cast, acting, covering a great tale of injustice and violence. Incredible the amount of great Cinema that barely gets an airing in the UK. Historical events such as the Famine, Culloden, Easter Rising, Transportation, Glencoe Massacre, Tolpuddle martyrs, Peterloo and the Highland Clearances are stories that deserve telling. Instead the Big Budgets are left to fetishise WW2 again and again.