Berlinale 64 review – ’71
Introducing Yann Demange’s debut film ’71 as an expressive thriller probably raises more attention than saying it is a historical film portraying Northern Ireland’s political turmoil, but both descriptions are valid. ’71 is one of the best British films of the year and a powerful piece in competition at the Berlinale.
The story’s protagonist, the young British recruit Gary, is sent with his regiment to regulate Belfast, where the conflict between Protestants and Catholics had pushed the city to the verge of civil war by the titular year. Preparing the soldiers – really young boys – for action, their commander warns them not to worry about uncomfortable barracks, as it is just a place to wait until some “fucking Catholic Paddie” inevitably shoots them. At the beginning of the film, we share a quick history crash course with the recruits: Catholics are enemies, Protestants are friends. (Note: The Protestant unionists would like Belfast to remain part of the United Kingdom, while the Catholic nationalists want an independent Ireland, completely free from the crown, together with Northern Ireland.) In the film’s very first conflict, our hero’s troop is sent to the Falls Road, a Catholic neighbourhood at the front line of the war zone, to inspect a property for arms. The situation quickly becomes out of control – residents start to throw rocks at the British soldiers, who answer by firing their guns – and when Gary runs after a young boy, who steals his gun, he falls behind his retreating unit. The story, however, does not focus primarily on the political events; it is a one man drama about a fight for survival.
The film’s biggest merit lies in its visual power. ‘71 is fundamentally a thriller, the story of Gary on the run. After being trapped on the other side of the front line his life is endangered by all the different parties (the loyalist paramilitaries, the republican IRA, even the local police, who are in theory allies with the Brits, but in reality are playing a complicated tactical game). It is not really his personality we identify with (the only back-story he is given is that he has a little brother), but we experience his defencelessness and imminent danger to life he constantly faces. We bite off our finger nails in excitement, continually worrying for his life. Portraying him, Jack O’Connell (just 23 years old), is an extension of the viewer, often gaping at the events around him, just as confused as us. As Gary flees from a volley of gunshots in a narrow alley, or wobbles at the edge of consciousness after a bomb attack, the camera perfectly identifies with his subjective point of view. Skilled cinematographer Tat Radcliffe’s handheld camera follows him through confined spaces and when Gary stumbles, it veers with him; Radcliffe even dares to include completely subjective pictures shot from Gary’s point of view. Just like him, we can only see a swaying picture, grey from bomb smoke, and just like him, we can only hear the maddening ringing. With its every tool the film makes us see with Gary’s eyes, to experience the brutal events around him through his senses. To achieve this, it also uses horror elements and portrays the violence in almost unbearably explicit pictures. The film opens with two boxers smashing each other into pulp, but later we also have to witness blown-out brains and the distressing agony of those who die slowly. Here, the kid who isn’t quick enough to pull the trigger first is shot immediately.
It is a huge achievement in itself if a film is able to depict a complicated political event without being partial. Demange and script-writer Gregory Burke focused little on the politics and more on the people’s reactions and illustrating mindless violence of war. As a matter of fact, any war could serve as the film’s background. Maybe it is not really important, if, for a foreign viewer, the conflict’s politics seems a bit confusing. It is more distressing to know, however, that often the people taking part in the fight did not really know which side they belong to. When a local girl asks the English soldier why people from Derby don’t get along with the people of Nottingham, he can only answer that he does not know. The girl is played by Charlie Murphy, who appears for a short time as the only woman in the film. A freshly coloured character is played by Corey McKinley, who even steals the attention of this protagonist focused film in a couple of episodes: a confidently filthy-mouthed 9-year-old, against whom even the paramilitaries are defenceless.
Another strength of the film is that it is elaborated to the last finest detail. Although it was not shot in Belfast, but in Liverpool in England, the characters’ costumes and hairstyles and the décor of the flats suit the milieu perfectly. Furthermore, every character talks with very authentic accents: even though they speak English in Belfast, the film was not only subtitled in German, but also in English at the Berlin Film Festival.
originally published at: http://filmtekercs.hu/fesztival/berlinale-64-versenyfilmek-71-2
'71 (2014)
99 min - Action | Drama | Thriller - 7 February 2014 Berlin International Film Festival , 10 October 2014 (UK)
Director: Yann Demange
Writer: Gregory Burke
Cinematography: Tat Radcliffe
Editing: Chris Wyatt
Production Design: Chris Oddy
Art Direction: Kat Hale, Nigel Pollock
Set Decoration: Kate Guyan
Costume Design: Jane Petrie
Stars: Jack O'Connell. Paul Anderson, Sean Harris, Sam Reid, Charlie Murphy, Sam Hazeldine, Corey McKinley