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| The giant head of celebrated, long-haired co-star Daniel Day-Lewis makes up this poster for Jim Sheridan's In the Name of the Father |
Gerry Conlon is a young thief in Belfast, Ireland, who in the mid 1970s moves to London, where he hangs out with some bad types, robs a prostitute and is eventually convicted of a horrific IRA bombing that killed 4 off-duty soldiers, which he had nothing to do with.
In the Name of the Father is written by Terry George (The Boxer (1997)) and co-writer/producer/director, great Irish filmmaker Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot (1989)), adapting the autobiography Proved Innocent (1990) by Gerry Conlon.
The film is very involving for some audiences; for me the obstacles surrounding Daniel Day-Lewis' (The Crucible (1996)) protagonist were too considerable for me to get fully invested: Conlon is a fairless useless, hopeless and really stupid turncoat.
The film is handsomely produced, well told and well acted. It would have been better, if the film's perspective had been that of Conlon's father and not his bovine son. The father is acted strongly by Pete Postlethwaite (Ghost Son (2007)) in what is perhaps his career's best role. Day-Lewis' Gerry Conlon makes this celebrated, otherwise fine film an unnecessarily depressing experience.
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Jim Sheridan: Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005) - Sheridan's hiphop biopic riddled with weak spots
2005 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
Watch a trailer for the film here
Cost: 13 mil. $
Box office: 65.7 mil. $
= Big hit (returned 5.05 times its cost)
[In the Name of the Father premiered 12 December (Ireland) and runs 133 minutes. Day-Lewis reportedly shed 23 kg (50 lb) for the role, prepared by getting incarcerated for 3 days and nights and exposing himself to a nine hour interrogation. During shooting he insisted on receiving abuse from his surroundings and kept up his Belfast accent off-screen as part of his method acting. Shooting took place from March - June 1993 in Ireland, including in Dublin and in England, including London. The film opened #21 to a 109k $ first weekend in 4 theaters in North America, where it peaked at #10 and in 688 theaters (different weeks), grossing 25 mil. $ (38.1 % of the total gross). Its foreign market numbers are regrettably not detailed; however, it was the 2nd highest-grossing film ever in Ireland, (behind Jurassic Park (1993)), with a 4.5 mil. $ gross, and the highest-grossing Irish film there of all time as well. It was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning none: It lost Best Actor (Day-Lewis) to Tom Hanks in Philadelphia, Supporting Actor (Postlethwaite) to Tommy Lee Jones in The Fugitive, Supporting Actress (Emma Thompson (Love Actually (2003))) to Anna Paquin in The Piano, Director to Steven Spielberg for Schindler's List, Editing to Schindler's List, Adapted Screenplay to Steven Zaillian for Schindler's List and Picture also to Schindler's List. The film was also nominated for 2 BAFTAs, won 1/2 David di Donatello award nominations, was nominated for a European Film award and 4 Golden Globes and won a National Board of Review award, among many other honors. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch over this one. The film was criticized for changing and fictionalizing several elements of the true story. IMDb's users have rated the film in at #194 on the site's Top 250, sitting between The Gold Rush (1935) and Monsters, Inc. (2001). Sheridan returned with Sinéad O'Connor: You Made Me the Thief of Your Heart (1994, music video) and theatrically with The Boxer (1997). Day-Lewis returned in The Crucible (1996); Thompson in My Father the Hero (1994). In the Name of the Father is certified fresh at 94 % with a 7.80/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]
What do you think of In the Name of the Father?
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