"...if there's one thing I know about, it's guilt, you know?"

Rating: 8/10 (13 November 2017)

This is a dramatically moving story on film, but as is so often the case, mincemeat is made of the historical facts so if that's what you're looking for you'll be disappointed. Other reviewers have done a good job of establishing the real relationships involved between Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) and Paul Hill (John Lynch), so no use belaboring that point. The most disturbing aspect of this film is the idea that authorities won't admit their mistake in a high profile case, even when it means the disruption of families and it's impact on vulnerable citizens like Giuseppe Conlon (Pete Postlethwaite), who died in prison serving out a senseless term for a crime he didn't commit. Adding insult to injury, the real terrorists, some of whom admitted their part in the Guildford pub bombing, never even got charged with the crime. It's just so infuriating, especially when you know there's no recourse for the injured parties. With all that, the thing that caused my biggest sit up and take notice moment occurred during the credits following the movie, when it was noted that Paul Hill eventually wound up marrying the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy. He and Courtney Kennedy wed in 2002 and lived in Ireland for four years until they legally separated.