2021 – Belfast
This was a small and intimate film which was directed by Kenneth Branagh. It was a very personal film for him, and was somewhat based on his own childhood and experiences, growing up in Norther Ireland, right around the time when The Troubles started. And just to get it out of the way, I’ll mention here that the film seemed to imply, at times, that the terrible conflict and the riots were religiously motivated, the Protestants and that the Catholics were fighting each other, but in truth, The Troubles was a political struggle, which the movie didn’t really address.
But I suppose that was appropriate. Most of the narrative was told from the perspective of a nine year old boy named Buddy, excellently played by Jude Hill. In that respect, a child wouldn’t really understand the politics of the situation, but the simple difference between the two religious denominations would be easier for him to grasp. There is even a scene where Buddy is talking with his cousin, Moira, played by Lara McDonnell, about how to tell the difference between a Protestant and a Catholic, which to the children, is apparently by their family name.
But the real conflict in the film is the fact that Buddy’s father, known only as Pa, and played by Jamie Dornan, and his mother, Ma, played by Caitriona Balfe, disagree about whether to remain in Belfast, which is becoming more dangerous by the day, or to leave, and go to England, where Pa has a good job. Ma is so set against leaving because she has always lived in Belfast in a community where she, the kids, and the extended family, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles, are all looked after by the whole community. This conflict is only resolved at the climax of the film, where a known, if not trusted neighbor, Billy Clanton, played by Colin Morgan, nearly murders Pa in the street during a riot, over his refusal to take a side in the political struggle of The Troubles. Ma finally sees that her home is no longer safe, and the next time we see them, they are leaving Belfast.
And lest I forget, I have to mention four other characters who were important to the film. There was Buddy’s older brother, Will, played by Lewis McAskie. While Will wasn’t really crucial to the story, he rounded out the family nicely. But then there was Buddy’s classmate, Catherine, played by Olive Tennant. She was the smart girl who Buddy had a crush on. She was the focus of a cute and almost romantic subplot that ended when Buddy’s family left for England.
But very important to the story was Buddy’s grandparents, Pop and Granny, beautifully played by veteran actors Ciaran Hinds and Judi Dench. Hinds was like the philosophical voice of romance and reason in the film, offering Buddy sage advice about love and passion, while Granny was a strong and independent soul who showed pragmatism and determination in the face of struggle, a stereotypically Irish trait, one might say. And I happen to think that Judi Dench is one of those actors who can do no wrong. Once again, she was wonderful.
There are several themes in the film that were apparent to me as I was watching. One is that there is real value in being part of a community that looks after its own. Another is knowing when that community is no longer functioning in that capacity. It was a difficult lesson for the family to learn, and yet to recognize that the dreams of your childhood don’t always suffice to keep what you love safe in an adult world. Another theme that was beautifully and lovingly touched on was that of acceptance, something that was driven home as the Protestant family is waiting at the bus-stop at the end of the movie. Pa takes Buddy to say goodbye to Catherine, who happens to be a Catholic. Pa tells his son that if the Catholics are good people, their religion makes no difference, and they would always be welcome in his home.
The movie was mostly filmed in black and white, but it was an interesting directorial choice to have color at key moments. In the beginning, as the opening credits are being shown, a modern day Belfast is being shown in color, but as soon as we are taken back to the late sixties, everything goes to black and white. But even then, whenever Buddy is watching a movie, or going to a play, the fictions within the movie are in color. For example, the family went to a production of A Christmas Carol, and the actors in the play were in color. Or when they went to see Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang, the image on the screen of the movie house was in color. I’m guessing this was supposed to show how the young Kenneth Branagh’s childhood… I mean Buddy’s childhood, was elevated by the movies he saw.
This movie’s strength was in its really powerful performances by it fantastic cast, namely the child actor who carried most of the film, Jude Hill. He was a natural. He seemed to be at ease in front of the camera, and was able to keep up with the rest of the cast, even in small in intimate scenes with the likes of Judi Dench and Jamie Dornan. The movie was only a little more than an hour and a half long, but I feel that I really got a good sense of who Buddy was, and that tells me he did his job well. If I had any complaints, it would only be that I wish they had shown more actual danger because of The Troubles. It might have given the light drama a little more weight, if I had felt a stronger sense of danger for the family.