06-05-2023, 08:50 AM
Yep, Neil Jordan's movie about Irish hero Michael Collins. The move starts at the surrender at the General Post Office in 1916 and ends with his death in Cork in 1922. Sorry, spoiler.
I remember thinking it wasn't very good when it first came out, but now that I know more about Irish I can fully affirm it's not that good. But we desperate to see something and The Queen had never seen it. Yep, blaming the Queen on her birthday.
The funniest thing for me was the use of the GPO set for everything. It seemed the entire town of Dublin was that intersection. You could see the massive columns of the building in most city street scenes. More funny when you know there isn't a street that runs right into the front of the General Post Office. On the plus side, all the Irish actors were in this. Best of all must have been Brendan Gleeson in one of his first roles. I think he had one line in the movie. But much like the GPO, Gleeson is on the margins of many scenes.
Liam Neeson plays Collins and I'd forgotten that Alan Rickman plays Collins foil, Eamon de Valera. Rickman's accent was very strange in this film. I don't know what he was going for but it's Rickman's. And what can I say about Julia Roberts as the love interest? Stunt casting.
The best moment was the battle of the Four Courts building. Unlike the GPO, which was a set, the filmmakers used the actual Four Courts building for the simulated shelling. And if they had just turned their cameras a little bit to the right, I could have seen the spot where the Hampton by Hilton would eventually be built.
I remember thinking it wasn't very good when it first came out, but now that I know more about Irish I can fully affirm it's not that good. But we desperate to see something and The Queen had never seen it. Yep, blaming the Queen on her birthday.
The funniest thing for me was the use of the GPO set for everything. It seemed the entire town of Dublin was that intersection. You could see the massive columns of the building in most city street scenes. More funny when you know there isn't a street that runs right into the front of the General Post Office. On the plus side, all the Irish actors were in this. Best of all must have been Brendan Gleeson in one of his first roles. I think he had one line in the movie. But much like the GPO, Gleeson is on the margins of many scenes.
Liam Neeson plays Collins and I'd forgotten that Alan Rickman plays Collins foil, Eamon de Valera. Rickman's accent was very strange in this film. I don't know what he was going for but it's Rickman's. And what can I say about Julia Roberts as the love interest? Stunt casting.
The best moment was the battle of the Four Courts building. Unlike the GPO, which was a set, the filmmakers used the actual Four Courts building for the simulated shelling. And if they had just turned their cameras a little bit to the right, I could have seen the spot where the Hampton by Hilton would eventually be built.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm