A bizarre, rather disappointing choice for nearly all involved. The film is essentially an action movie, although it certainly makes an effort to rise above its lowly fate as such and make a statement about the ability to forgive others, and ultimately to forgive yourself. Mike Hodges' biggest mistake is not letting the film be what it was meant to be, a thriller.
It begins with Irish Republican Army operatives Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) and Liam Docherty (a game Liam Neeson) overseeing the bombing of an English army transport truck. The bombing goes awry, however, and a schoolbus carrying a handful of children is detonated instead. In the ensuing chaos, Martin and Liam are separated. Guilt-stricken, Martin goes on the run. Liam is sent by his IRA superiors to find Martin and either bring him back or kill him.
Martin wants to drop out of the terrorist business and go to America. In order to get the papers he needs from creepy crime boss/undertaker Jack Meehan (Alan Bates), he agrees to one last job, the assassination of a rival gang leader. Martin goes to a cemetery to do the job, but is witnessed by Father Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). In order to prevent the priest from identifying him to the police, Martin confesses his crime to Da Costa.
And that's when things get complicated. Meehan wants Martin to off the priest, but Martin says he's done killing. Da Costa is uncomfortable with keeping Martin's secret, but as a Catholic priest he has no choice. And Liam is closing in on Martin every day.
There are moments of genuine pathos, mostly thanks to Mickey Rourke, who does his absolute best with the material at hand. The more I see of him, the more I'm reminded of what Marlon Brando was like in his youth. Aside from a significant facial and physical resemblance, they share a vulnerability on screen that's very unusual. For the most part, however, this is silly stuff, especially Fallon's romance with Da Costa's blind niece (a godawful Sammi Davis). That was just unnecessary.
I should probably mention that Alan Bates makes a pretty terrific villain, and he's almost worth the price of a rental all by himself. Not quite, but almost. There's also some fine cinematography. The score got on my nerves though; in fact, you could say the score is a perfect metaphor for the film. It weaved from mournful, evocative Irish folk music to typical action-adventure crap, often within heartbeats of one another.
Overall, an uneven, occasionally dull effort. Huzzah for Alan Bates for keeping it interesting though.
It begins with Irish Republican Army operatives Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke) and Liam Docherty (a game Liam Neeson) overseeing the bombing of an English army transport truck. The bombing goes awry, however, and a schoolbus carrying a handful of children is detonated instead. In the ensuing chaos, Martin and Liam are separated. Guilt-stricken, Martin goes on the run. Liam is sent by his IRA superiors to find Martin and either bring him back or kill him.
Martin wants to drop out of the terrorist business and go to America. In order to get the papers he needs from creepy crime boss/undertaker Jack Meehan (Alan Bates), he agrees to one last job, the assassination of a rival gang leader. Martin goes to a cemetery to do the job, but is witnessed by Father Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). In order to prevent the priest from identifying him to the police, Martin confesses his crime to Da Costa.
And that's when things get complicated. Meehan wants Martin to off the priest, but Martin says he's done killing. Da Costa is uncomfortable with keeping Martin's secret, but as a Catholic priest he has no choice. And Liam is closing in on Martin every day.
There are moments of genuine pathos, mostly thanks to Mickey Rourke, who does his absolute best with the material at hand. The more I see of him, the more I'm reminded of what Marlon Brando was like in his youth. Aside from a significant facial and physical resemblance, they share a vulnerability on screen that's very unusual. For the most part, however, this is silly stuff, especially Fallon's romance with Da Costa's blind niece (a godawful Sammi Davis). That was just unnecessary.
I should probably mention that Alan Bates makes a pretty terrific villain, and he's almost worth the price of a rental all by himself. Not quite, but almost. There's also some fine cinematography. The score got on my nerves though; in fact, you could say the score is a perfect metaphor for the film. It weaved from mournful, evocative Irish folk music to typical action-adventure crap, often within heartbeats of one another.
Overall, an uneven, occasionally dull effort. Huzzah for Alan Bates for keeping it interesting though.