Great performances, powerful movie.

Rating: 9/10 (21 October 2007)

It's funny how you can watch a whole bunch of movies, trying to learn more about film-making and how shots are constructed, how characters are developed, how music should be used and then all of a sudden a movie comes along and you find yourself drawn into its story and easily forgetting to pay attention to all of technical aspects. When it comes to In the Name of the Father, it was like being reminded of how powerful a performance could be and how films can truly reach into your heart and affect you.
I don't know what makes Daniel Day-Lewis' performance so effective but I thought it was very much so. I think great film is often about capturing the great things that already exist in the world, not so much about creating a great work of art but recognising something that you find beautiful or simply interesting and sharing it with an audience. Perhaps the reason Day-Lewis' performance is so good is that he is so "naked" as an actor (as they say). I have a feeling this is probably some well known concept in film that critics rarely talk about because everyone understands it (except me). Oh well.
I also though Pete Postlethwaite and Emma Thompson were excellent as well, one gets the impression that everyone that worked on the film truly believed in it. As for the story, I have no idea how close it is to the truth but to some degree I don't think it matters. What matters is that it manages to engage and affect you, hence inspiring you to learn more about the actual events for yourself. I don't think films should have to be about capturing or creating realism only, by exploring fantasies you can make things more personal as well as achieve greater depth (I believe) hence expressing more than you could otherwise. This probably has little to do with this film in particular but as Roger Ebert has said (roughly), movies should be about emotions and ideas not facts.
So, I think what makes In the Name of the Father so effective is that its a personal film with a very talented cast, a good story and a director that knows how to let the magic happen. Or something. I think that's an extremely vague and general statement but hey, I don't want to spoil the details of the story.