Incredible father and son story

Rating: 8/10 (16 December 2014)

It's 1974. The IRA bombs a pub in Guildford, England. Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) is an aimless petty thief. His father Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite) is a straight-arrow soft-spoken man. He and his friend Paul Hill (John Lynch) are in London staying with hippies. They leave the flat when the pub bombing happens. A prostitute drops her keys and Gerry breaks in. The parliament passes the Prevention of Terrorism Act which allows for suspects to be held for 7 days. Gerry, Paul and others are arrested and coerced into false confessions. Giuseppe and other relatives are also implicated. The actual bomber Joe McAndrew (Don Baker) is arrested and tells the police. However the police refuses to admit its mistake. Gerry befriends Joe in prison while ignoring the peaceful faith of his father. Joe becomes the leader of the prison as Giuseppe declines in health. British attorney Gareth Peirce (Emma Thompson) works to free the falsely imprisoned. After Joe burns the lead guard, Gerry saves him and turns on Joe.
This is a meticulous telling of a compelling life wrongly convicted. It's a bit up and down at times. The first trial is not the most compelling. The results are preordained and not that compelling. The most compelling is the father son relationship. When Joe get into the middle, it's a great turn in the story. These are two great performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite. The two of them in prison is a terrific movie filled with emotions and character growth. The final court case is theatrical as heck.