Unbiased and touching portrayal

Rating: Null/10 (17 July 2006)

"The Wind that Shakes the Barley" is one of those films that will touch some while leaving others wondering what all the fuss was about.
I had heard much talk about the criticism bestowed on the film by English critics - calling it anti-English and biased - but I must say I found it to be otherwise. I feel the reason the English critics were so harsh on the movie is because they simply could not identify with the subject matter, maybe not being so aware of their not-so-shiny history as they should have been before lashing out. This lack of connection is one thing that may keep international viewers from appreciating it in the same way as Irish viewers.
As someone who's family will have had a history on either or both sides of the the civil war of the 20s and/or the on-going troubles in the north, the movie will make you think of your own great-grandparents or grand-parents as being those young and initially vibrant people in the film whose worlds are torn apart by something they eventually must react against. Their inner struggles and heartbreaks were extremely well portrayed (although Orla Fitzgerald's performance was the one low-point of the movie, particularly her monologue following the announcement of the terms of the Treaty - it felt like the only truly unnatural and rehearsed piece of dialogue in the whole movie. Her performance as a whole was wooden and left Murphy with little to work with.) The real emphasis of the film stayed on the Irish men and women who partook in the fighting, against both the black-and-tans and their fellow Irishmen, really only showing the Black-and-tans when absolutely necessary, as the catalyst for the actions of the Irish. There was no indulgence in any biased portrayal of the English and to think so is not seeing the wood for the trees.
The unexpected success of the movie for me was not only in bringing home the plight of the Irish at the time, but leaving the audience to decide how they might have reacted themselves, or who they may have sided with - my companion and I left the cinema sitting on exactly opposite sides of the fence! Murphy's performance is excellent, the development of his character from a near coward to martyr was beautifully portrayed. Delaney's portrayal of Teddy was a little underwhelming I must say, but he gave excellent support to the main character. Cunningham was wonderful, giving an immaculate and very subtle performance letting his character get under your skin. As said above, Fitzgerald let the cast down with her blatantly poor, almost amateur performance.