greatly involving and feels authentic

Rating: 9/10 (27 May 2011)

1920: Two Irish brothers, Damion O'Donovan (played by Cillian Murphy) and Teddy O'Donovan (Pádraic Delaney) join the IRA to fight for independence.
I thought at first this was going to be just another war drama, but the movie gives a very authentic feeling, and at times I almost forgot I was watching actors. There's a real sense of place, time and mentality.
The movie is being clever by not turning the Irish fighters into superheroes but rather as scared and proud people who didn't always agree on what is right to do in terms of justice between themselves. There is a great court scene explaining this very point.
In the end, you could say it's also the story of two brothers the war has divided, the way it has divided their whole land. One one side, those fighting for the Free State Treaty, the others fighting against it.