Johnny McQueen, the head of a criminal organisation in a city in Northern Ireland, stages a raid on a mill's payroll. It goes badly wrong, a man is killed and Johnny is wounded. With the police hunting him in force and a reward on his head, Johnny is forced to flee through the city at night, unable to trust anyone.
This movie has an interesting amoral dramatic structure - it puts a bad man (a terrorist, robber and killer) in the lead, and then asks you to sympathise with him. It does this by emphasising his altruistic qualities (loyalty, friendship, courage) and his suffering - he literally bleeds to death for almost the whole film, the night is bitterly cold, he's slowly losing his mind and almost everyone is out to get him. The drama comes from the other characters' relationships with him - those who love and admire him (sweetheart Ryan and friend Beatty), those who want to exploit him (informer Delaney, hobo McCormick and artist Newton) and those who don't want to get involved with him (cabbie Tomelty and bartender Hartnell). In the end though, I can't empathise with McQueen no matter how much he suffers (unlike, for example, Alex in A Clockwork Orange, who is much worse), because he's responsible by his own actions for the mess he's in. The "Organisation" is of course a nom-de-guerre for the Irish Republican Army (and the unnamed city probably Belfast) but the film doesn't make the mistake of addressing political issues - it's purely a drama, full of compassion and insight into human nature. Very well made and acted, with great moody photography by Robert Krasker and terrific sets by Roger K. Furse and Ralph Brinton. Written by F.L. Green and R.C. Sheriff, based on Green's novel.
This movie has an interesting amoral dramatic structure - it puts a bad man (a terrorist, robber and killer) in the lead, and then asks you to sympathise with him. It does this by emphasising his altruistic qualities (loyalty, friendship, courage) and his suffering - he literally bleeds to death for almost the whole film, the night is bitterly cold, he's slowly losing his mind and almost everyone is out to get him. The drama comes from the other characters' relationships with him - those who love and admire him (sweetheart Ryan and friend Beatty), those who want to exploit him (informer Delaney, hobo McCormick and artist Newton) and those who don't want to get involved with him (cabbie Tomelty and bartender Hartnell). In the end though, I can't empathise with McQueen no matter how much he suffers (unlike, for example, Alex in A Clockwork Orange, who is much worse), because he's responsible by his own actions for the mess he's in. The "Organisation" is of course a nom-de-guerre for the Irish Republican Army (and the unnamed city probably Belfast) but the film doesn't make the mistake of addressing political issues - it's purely a drama, full of compassion and insight into human nature. Very well made and acted, with great moody photography by Robert Krasker and terrific sets by Roger K. Furse and Ralph Brinton. Written by F.L. Green and R.C. Sheriff, based on Green's novel.