’71

Any listeners to Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo’s weekly film show, Wittertainment as it has affectionately become known, will be aware of a long running joke about films that aren’t actually about what they appear to be about.  The classic example of this, at least in Mark Kermode’s opinion, is Jaws, which he proclaims is not about the shark, but actually about infidelity.  The most recent addition to this ‘genre’ is ’71, a film set in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, but which despite this, is really not about the Troubles themselves.

’71 tells the story of Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell) as he attempts to survive a night on the streets of Belfast, having been accidentally abandoned by his unit.  Anyone with any slight historical knowledge, will know that this was not a good place for a British soldier in 1971 and Hook quickly finds that as the sun sets he is stuck in an area he does not want to be and who he can trust is not as black and white as it might appear.  It’s in this that we see the distinction between a movie set in the Troubles and a movie about them.  The political situation in Northern Ireland is without a doubt the backdrop to this film, but the real story is in the chase.  Hook himself has no stake in Northern Ireland’s conflict and in fact one of the only comic moments in the film comes when a young boy asks him whether he is Catholic or Protestant, to which he replies he doesn’t know, causing the boy to gawp in amazement.

What this film definitely is, is a tense and gripping 90 odd minute thriller.  Not once do you entirely feel safe for Hook and O’Connell puts in a masterful performance.  It’s one that sees him uttering very little, but he says everything he needs to do with his body language and his acting insures that we care about his character and want him to make it out of this situation unscathed.  Belfast is also a major player in this film, her winding streets and apartment blocks are turned into a more malevolent place than nearly any James Wan haunted house and as Hook makes his way from place to place, you never feel truly comfortable for him on her streets.  Elsewhere, there are strong supporting roles from David Wilmot and Sean Harris, who do a good job of getting across the idea that no now is exactly what they might appear to be in these situations.

’71 is a brilliant piece of film making.  It’s tense, gripping and full of fantastic performances from it’s cast.  It takes a still slightly raw political situation and sets a film in it where no one is shown to be the good guys or the bad guys, but rather varying shades of grey, out of which a young man must find a way to survive and get on with his life.  If there is any justice, it will be hailed as one of the best pieces of British cinema this year.