# The General (1998 film)

The General is a 1998 crime film written and directed by John Boorman about Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill, who undertook several daring heists in the early 1980s and attracted the attention of the Garda Síochána, Irish Republican Army (IRA) and Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) .The film was shot in 1997 and released in 1998. Brendan Gleeson plays Cahill, Adrian Dunbar plays his friend Noel Curley, and Jon Voight plays Inspector Ned Kenny.

## Plot

The story of Dubliner Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies but came into conflict with members of his gang and attracted attention from the police and the IRA, and whose dealings with the UVF ultimately led to his downfall.

## Cast

* Brendan Gleeson as Martin Cahill
* Adrian Dunbar as Noel Curley
* Sean McGinley as Gary
* Maria Doyle Kennedy as Frances
* Angeline Ball as Tina
* Jon Voight as Inspector Ned Kenny
* Eanna MacLiam as Jimmy
* Tom Murphy as Willie Byrne
* Paul Hickey as Anthony
* Tommy O'Neill as Paddy
* John O'Toole as Shea
* Ciarán Fitzgerald as Tommy
* Ned Dennehy as Gay
* Vinny Murphy as Harry (as Vinnie Murphy)
* Roxanna Williams as Orla

## Production

The film is based on the book of the same name by Irish journalist Paul Williams, who was then crime correspondent for the Sunday World. The director, John Boorman was one of Cahill's burglary victims. This event is dramatised in a scene in which Cahill breaks into a home, stealing a gold record and pilfering a watch from the wrist of a sleeping woman. The gold record, which Cahill later breaks in disgust after discovering it is not made of gold, was awarded for the score of Deliverance, Boorman's best-known film.
Filming was at various locations around Dublin, including South Lotts and Ranelagh. Although shot in colour, the theatrical release of the film was presented in black-and-white for artistic reasons, while an alternate version of the desaturated original colour print was subsequently made available for television broadcast and home video. Asked why he chose to depict Cahill's life in black-and-white, Boorman said
   I love black-and-white, and since I was making the film independently — I borrowed the money from the bank — there was no one to tell me I couldn't. If I had made [The General] for a studio, they wouldn't let me do that. The other reason, the main reason, was because it was about recent events and people who were still alive. I wanted to give it a little distance. Black-and-white gives you that sort of parallel world. Also, it's very close to the condition of dreaming, to the unconscious. I wanted it to have this mythic level because I felt this character was an archetype. All throughout history, you find this rebel, this violent, funny, brilliant kind of character. I wanted to make that kind of connection, and black-and-white film helps. Up until the middle to late '60s, it was a choice to film in black-and-white or color. But then television became so vital to a film's finance, and television won't show black-and-white. So that killed it off, really.

## Reception

The General holds an approval rating of 83% based on 47 reviews on website Rotten Tomatoes. The consensus summarizes: "Director John Boorman assuredly returns to the crime genre with The General -- a psychologically rich and darkly humorous piece of gangster cinema anchored by Brendan Gleeson's audacious performance."
The film grossed £1.6 million in the UK and Ireland, the second highest-grossing Irish film of the year, behind The Butcher Boy. In the United States and Canada it grossed $1.2 million for a worldwide estimated total of $3.8 million.
The film garnered multiple awards for Gleeson's performance and Boorman's directing, with some critics speculating the former would earn an Academy Award nomination. Boorman won the award for Best Director at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. Though Gleeson was not nominated for an Oscar, his performance was awarded by the Boston Society of Film Critics, the London Film Critics' Circle, and the Irish Film and Television Academy.

## Awards and nominations

| Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Director | John Boorman | Won |
| Boston Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson (also for I Went Down) | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | Best Director | John Boorman | Won |
| Cannes Film Festival | Palme d'Or | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Evening Standard British Film Awards | Best Film | John Boorman | Won |
| Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival | Best Film | John Boorman | Won |
| Independent Spirit Awards | Best Foreign Film | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Feature Film | | Won |
| Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Actor in a Male Role | Brendan Gleeson | Won |
| Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Screenplay | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Irish Film and Television Awards | Best Craft Contribution | Seamus Deasy (photography) | Nominated |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | British Actor of the Year | Brendan Gleeson | Won |
| London Critics Circle Film Awards | British Director of the Year | John Boorman | Won |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Director | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards | Best Cinematography | Seamus Deasy | Nominated |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson (also for I Went Down) | Nominated |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Cinematography | Seamus Deasy | Nominated |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson | Nominated |
| Santa Fe Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actor | Brendan Gleeson | Won |
| Satellite Awards | Best Motion Picture, Drama | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | Best Director | John Boorman | Nominated |
| Satellite Awards | Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama | Brendan Gleeson | Nominated |