'71
Year: 2014
Director: Yann Demange
Starring: Richard Dormer, Sean Harris & Jack O'Connell
Runtime: 99 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 08/07/21
Director: Yann Demange
Starring: Richard Dormer, Sean Harris & Jack O'Connell
Runtime: 99 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 08/07/21
The civil unrest in Ireland has been present for centuries and over time grew to a small-scale war and several acts of terrorism in the last few decades in a period of time often called ‘The Troubles’. The primarily Protestant Northern Ireland being one of the countries that makes up the United Kingdom and is against creating a united Ireland as they do not want to lose their position within the UK. Then there’s the primarily Catholic Republic of Ireland who believe that Ireland should be a united country and separate from the UK, allowing them to truly make their own way in the world. Between late 1960’s and late 1990’s, The Troubles escalated into all out warfare between the Protestant ‘Loyalists’ and the Catholic ‘Republicans’, with the British initially trying to act as peacekeepers between the two factions as fights broke out on the streets, and bombings of populated areas were common. The British peacekeeping didn’t work and only escalated the situation, and whilst the early 00’s brought a great de-escalation in violence both in Ireland and Britain, the social unrest still continues today.
’71 follows Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell), a British Army recruit deployed in Belfast during 1971. Placed under the leadership of Second Lieutenant Armitage (Sam Reid), the platoon is stationed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary to provide support as they raid homes in the local area for weapons, an area that sits directly on a divide between Loyalist and Republican territory. As the public begins to riot against the British soldiers Hook is separated from his platoon and chased through the streets by Irish Republican gunmen who want British blood. Stranded in enemy territory, Hook becomes the subject of a manhunt by the IRA, as a rescue mission is also mounted by his platoon. But the leaders of both factions aren’t playing by their own rules and adding fuel to the fire to escalate the situation towards full blown war.
’71 follows Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell), a British Army recruit deployed in Belfast during 1971. Placed under the leadership of Second Lieutenant Armitage (Sam Reid), the platoon is stationed with the Royal Ulster Constabulary to provide support as they raid homes in the local area for weapons, an area that sits directly on a divide between Loyalist and Republican territory. As the public begins to riot against the British soldiers Hook is separated from his platoon and chased through the streets by Irish Republican gunmen who want British blood. Stranded in enemy territory, Hook becomes the subject of a manhunt by the IRA, as a rescue mission is also mounted by his platoon. But the leaders of both factions aren’t playing by their own rules and adding fuel to the fire to escalate the situation towards full blown war.
The Troubles is a period of time I don’t really know much about. I remember when I was little hearing things about IRA bombings in mainland Britain, but I was far too young to know what was actually happening or what it all meant. But I feel like ’71 does a good job at introducing the situation to me, without ever bogging itself down too much in the complex politics at play.
In fact, that’s arguably the only truly negative thing I can say about ’71, is that it does seem a bit surface level at times. It never sinks its teeth into the social and political problems, but rather just presents the fact that these two groups don’t like each other. Although because the story is very much focused on the manhunt for Gary Hook, it doesn’t feel as though it necessarily needs to burden itself with trying to explain why this unrest is happening.
’71 is a tough film to watch at times too with some unrelentingly bleak scenes and visuals. It’s rough and dirty, where death is never a grand affair and just something that happens in a split second before anyone even knows what’s happening. It’s claustrophobic and anxiety inducing, and it’s a bloody good time too.
A small issue I take with ’71 is the over-reliance on shaky cam techniques to give it this rough around the edges look. There’s certainly time where it adds to the feel of the film, but most of the time it feels like whoever was in charge of the camera had no idea how to use one properly because the focus is all wrong and a lot of stuff hasn’t been framed properly. Plus, its so shaky even when there’s no action going on that it quickly becomes disorientating and not in the good way. It’s a shame too because ’71 has some excellent sequences like the riot, a bombing scene roughly halfway through the film, and a stealthy game of cat and mouse between Hook and some IRA members in a block of flats late in the film.
So ’71 seems to exist in this strange middle ground where it’s not informative enough to be a historical drama, but not enjoyable enough to watch as an action thriller. It is good, and the ending in particular will hit you like a sucker punch, but it makes me wonder who ’71 thinks its audience is. I feel like had this been a two- or three-part mini-series where the characters and social dynamics could have been greatly expanded upon then it would have been great. But as it stands it feels more like a proof of concept than a full-blown work of historical fiction. Enjoyable, but not unmissable.
In fact, that’s arguably the only truly negative thing I can say about ’71, is that it does seem a bit surface level at times. It never sinks its teeth into the social and political problems, but rather just presents the fact that these two groups don’t like each other. Although because the story is very much focused on the manhunt for Gary Hook, it doesn’t feel as though it necessarily needs to burden itself with trying to explain why this unrest is happening.
’71 is a tough film to watch at times too with some unrelentingly bleak scenes and visuals. It’s rough and dirty, where death is never a grand affair and just something that happens in a split second before anyone even knows what’s happening. It’s claustrophobic and anxiety inducing, and it’s a bloody good time too.
A small issue I take with ’71 is the over-reliance on shaky cam techniques to give it this rough around the edges look. There’s certainly time where it adds to the feel of the film, but most of the time it feels like whoever was in charge of the camera had no idea how to use one properly because the focus is all wrong and a lot of stuff hasn’t been framed properly. Plus, its so shaky even when there’s no action going on that it quickly becomes disorientating and not in the good way. It’s a shame too because ’71 has some excellent sequences like the riot, a bombing scene roughly halfway through the film, and a stealthy game of cat and mouse between Hook and some IRA members in a block of flats late in the film.
So ’71 seems to exist in this strange middle ground where it’s not informative enough to be a historical drama, but not enjoyable enough to watch as an action thriller. It is good, and the ending in particular will hit you like a sucker punch, but it makes me wonder who ’71 thinks its audience is. I feel like had this been a two- or three-part mini-series where the characters and social dynamics could have been greatly expanded upon then it would have been great. But as it stands it feels more like a proof of concept than a full-blown work of historical fiction. Enjoyable, but not unmissable.