All in all, I thought this was quite good but NOT the best I've seen from Loach. Somehow I felt it a bit insubstantial in terms of plot and hard to really feel for the characters.
What I really appreciated was the historical context Loach provided about a time most of us in Britain know little about. (Why isn't the winding down of the British Empire part of the school syllabus? Least, it wasn't when I did history.) This included the treatment of not just anti-British feeling, but how and why the Irish became divided among themselves, thus giving rise to the continued fight of the IRA, with all its repercussions on the rest of the 20th century, and still today.
Of course, the Brits in this are portrayed as wholly Bad Guys, which is used to make a point. I think, though, that's what I missed - a more nuanced treatment of the people involved. Ultimately, in fact, I felt this detracted from really feeling for the relationships of Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald) and Damien (Cillien Murphy), and of Teddy (Padraic Delaney) with Damien, both of which are pivotal to the closing stages.
What I really appreciated was the historical context Loach provided about a time most of us in Britain know little about. (Why isn't the winding down of the British Empire part of the school syllabus? Least, it wasn't when I did history.) This included the treatment of not just anti-British feeling, but how and why the Irish became divided among themselves, thus giving rise to the continued fight of the IRA, with all its repercussions on the rest of the 20th century, and still today.
Of course, the Brits in this are portrayed as wholly Bad Guys, which is used to make a point. I think, though, that's what I missed - a more nuanced treatment of the people involved. Ultimately, in fact, I felt this detracted from really feeling for the relationships of Sinead (Orla Fitzgerald) and Damien (Cillien Murphy), and of Teddy (Padraic Delaney) with Damien, both of which are pivotal to the closing stages.