50 Dead Men Walking

The "Troubles" of Northern Ireland have always provided a rich vein of dramatic material for film: unfortunate for the people who have lived through it; while providing some enjoyable, albeit guilty pleasures for the cineaste. 50 Dead Men Walking is based on the true story of Martin McGartland, a petty criminal living in Belfast who's arrested and eventually convinced to turn IRA informer: via the lures of some spending money and a car, and the promise not to be thrown in jail for selling hot merchandise. Along the way he acquires a conscience, as he begins to believe in his mission, and is comforted by the fact that his actions are saving lives. Although the film portrays the IRA soldiers as terrorists, the British don't come off as too much better: their soldiers are shown to be thuggish, and their civilian commanders as duplicitous and amoral. Ben Kingsley plays Fergus, Martin's British handler, and he does his usual excellent job in portraying the cynical cop who gradually begins to actually care about his young charge. Jim Sturgess, late of Across the Universe plays Martin, and he's quite convincing as the young criminal turned informer. The film is told in gritty unemotional style and one is made to feel sorry for all involved: the IRA soldiers, most of whom feel that their choice of "profession" is their only option, and the British, who are obviously unlucky enough to be posted to the most dangerous spot in the now non-existent empire. The film also has it's share of explicit violence, including one particularly graphic torture scene: and not to have these would only be dishonest in a film of this type. There has been a recent rapprochement and relative peace between the two sides, but this film shows how bad and depressing it was, only too recently. One final note: the film is in English of course, but to compensate for the heavy Irish accents, subtitles are provided. A wonderful addition and I only wish they had done the same for Trainspotting.

Rating - 3 Stars