Purports to take the audience behind the scenes at the highest levels of political intrigue, but the creators of this movie don't have the IQ or background to pull it off. <br /> <br />A quick-to-describe example of the whole is how they present the character whose murder kicks off the plot. We're told that he's a first-rate lawyer from the USA. But there's not the slightest hint of mental acuity in anything he does. We're left with just the writer's word for it. <br /> <br />And that's how the plot works, too. The progress of the protagonists through the investigation is unearned, just dumped in their laps. <br /> <br />Lacking insight, uninspired.
Viewer Reviews Obviously when a movie sets out to be a thriller about Northern Ireland with British secret service people bugging, stalking, and shooting down folks in the street, alot of people will get angry with its politics-as can be seen from some of the reviews.
But it is an excellent thriller. Loach is a great director, and he really gets the pace of it right (i felt uncomfortable for the entire duration-a mark of a good thriller!) The ending was a little abrupt, but in retrospect probably the only realistic way of doing it (unless you want Margaret Thatcher to jump out and blow every one away with a semi-automatic). I'd definitely recommend this one.
