Excellent

Rating: 9/10 (5 March 2012)

An excellent drama with a very strong charismatic performance by Daniel Day Lewis who plays Gerry Conlon, an unemployed drifter. It starts in Northern Ireland and moves onto London where Gerry gets involved with another group of itinerants. He is then falsely arrested for the bombing of an English pub by the IRA, where a number of people are killed and maimed. He is sentenced to a long prison term erroneously, along with his father. It is all part of a nefarious plot by the British government to incarcerate any suspect to keep the British population content that something is being done about the bombings.
Daniel Day-Lewis plays a complex character who is not entirely likable, but we do commiserate with his plight. At over 2 hours the movie never slows down. It's has tremendous conflict at all levels – in Ireland, the courtroom, the prison and the usual family father-son rivalries. It's based on a true story, but I have no idea regarding its authenticity. Highly recommended; particularly for those who love courtroom- prison dramas!