Successful in capturing the feeling of hopelessness and ruthlessness of England's occupation of Ireland in the 1920s, the film was slow in developing into a comprehendible narrative. The characters were difficult to distinguish between early on in the film, and the thick Irish accents made the dialogue of the characters easily miss-able. The second-half of the movie, when the English soldiers leave southern Ireland, and Irishman begins fighting Irishman was the most interesting aspect of the story. However, if you are not interested in Irish history, this film may be too time-consuming and unhurried to hold your interest.
Cillian Murphy ("Red Eye") is the main character, Damien, an Irishman who studied to be a doctor and was planning on working in London. Prior to his leaving, a contingent of English troops come to his village, humiliate and threaten the men of the village by gun-point, killing a young man Damien is close to. Uncertain initially of what to do, Damien decides to join the Irish Republican Army, who has sprung up as an insurgency to battle the British occupiers. Many of his friends, and his brother, are part of the cause, and they do many reprehensible things to the British, in an attempt to push them out of the country. Once the British do leave, after the treaty signed by the leaders of Britain and the Irish, those former IRA who have signed the treaty must maintain order as pieces of the population are unhappy with the end result. This ends up pitting friend against friend, and brother against brother.
Frustratingly, other than knowing at the very beginning that the story begins in 1920 Ireland, there are no other guideposts set down by the filmmakers as to how much time has transpired or where the characters are in Ireland. The strongest performances come compliments of Murphy and some of the minor women characters, as the film barely inches forward without Murphy on-screen. The film has a distinctly TV-movie feel to it, as the characters are only involved in minor local skirmishes. These characters are on the far outskirts of the main political issues at the heart of the war, therefore the scope of the outcry by the Irish can hardly be understood by the audience.
The director does incorporate the beautiful scenery of the Irish countryside into the story, and the costumes and mannerisms reflect the time period. Once the Irish must decide whether to support the treaty or continue the attacks against the government now controlled by fellow Irishmen, the philosophical underpinnings of the story become most interesting. It is sad to see what the British cruelty turn the Irish people into during this time period, and seeing brothers come down on opposite ends of the debate is upsetting. Those who are truly interested in Irish history will be most satisfied with "The Wind That Shakes the Barley". A slightly better, bigger budget film, "Michael Collins" would better serve the casual viewer.
Not Rated in USA
