'71

To complete our two-film Saturday, Mr B and I decided to see the British film '71. After hearing quite a bit about this film through other reviews, I thought I'd indulge my love of British filmmaking and convince Mr B to go see it.

'71 is a British action film set in Belfast around the time of the Belfast riots (unsurprisingly, 1971 to be precise). It stars Jack O'Connell (Starred Up, Skins) as the lead role of Gary Hook, a British soldier from Derbyshire, who gets separated from his unit during a riot on the streets of Belfast. As the night draws in, Hook needs to find his way back to his unit before being discovered by the deadly riot squads patrolling the streets of Belfast.

 

What can I say; this film has a lot going for it. For starters, the shaky cam filming during the high action parts works wonders for a film like this, with moments that made me feel so immersed in the action, I actually felt like I was in Belfast in 1971. I also learnt more than I wanted to know about the horrendous Belfast riots, which I had no idea about prior to seeing this movie. It's hard to believe that only 40 years ago the UK was in such a state. The movie is held together by five explosive scenes which enraptured me. However, the dialogue for me was limited to the point where I found myself a little bored at times. Having said that, O'Connell delivers the best performance of his career so far, besting his performance in 'Starred Up', which I would have initially thought impossible. Every film I see with Jack O'Connell in convinces me more and more that this guy is going to be huge one day. How he can hold your focus and how he conveys such angst with very few words is such an amazing thing to watch. His performance makes this good film great.

 

7/10 for '71 which places it around mid-table on My 2014 League Table. The film taught me a lot (mostly about how much I should look forward to the next film starring Jack O'Connell) but lacked enough dialogue to place it any higher in the league.