In the Name of the Father (1993)

Directed by Jim Sheridan
Written by Terry George and Jim Sheridan, based on the book by Gerry Conlon
Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson and John Lynch

In the midst of the IRA terrorist attacks in London, an Irish man named Gerry Conlon, along with ten other Irish citizens are convicted of crimes they did not commit. Sentenced between 4 years to life for their various convictions, the eleven innocent Irish men, women and children all served their sentences while maintaining their innocence. Until fifteen years later, when an English lawyer discovers a Police cover-up.

An infuriatingly true story of corruption and government conspiracy and the prejudice of all Irish citizens in England during the 1970s, "In the Name of the Father" shows just how easy it is for a police force to lie and affect innocent lives in order to get the illusion of results. In a so-called "Democracy", where the government is there to protect their citizens, they create a veil of lies and destroy the lives of eleven people.

It's a film that will make you think and ask just how accurate our judicial system is today. The truly terrifying thing in this case is that no police officers or detectives were ever charged for their crimes. The government protects it's own despite the cruel and unjust actions they are guilty of.

I'm no lawyer, but I'm pretty sure that this constitutes as a mistrial…

only unfortunately for Guiseppe Conlon, it was after he had died.

This is the kind of movie that will make you angry while you watch it. You won't believe you are hearing what you're hearing and you find it even harder to believe that the antagonist succeeds, thus creating a two-hour and fifteen-minute movie instead of a forty-minute, anti-climactic one.

As usual with Day-Lewis, his acting is on point. And being from Ireland himself, I'm sure this story hit close to home for him. With every movie I see him in, new or old, I am amazed at just how good of an actor he is. He is recognizable, yet has a tendency to disappear in his characters. Remarkable.

My Rating: 8/10

Oscar Best Picture Nominee: The Imitation Game

With the Oscars coming up in a little over a week, I decided I would take these next few days to discuss my opinions of the Best Picture Nominees.

"The Imitation Game"
Directed by Morten Tyldum
Written by Graham Moore (Screenplay) and Andrew Hodges (Novel)
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode and Mark Strong

Based on the true story of Alan Turing and the invention of his machine that would break the enigma code that the German's used in WWII. The machine is widely considered to have helped a great deal in defeating the Nazi's by breaking their code.

Truly an incredible story of a world wide hero, this film has another, more humanitarian message. Alan Turing was openly homosexual and was for lack of a better word, betrayed by the country he worked for and saved with his life's work.

Accused of indecency for being homosexual and a teacher, Turing was given a choice. To be given hormones that would affect his health and chemically castrate him, or jail, where he would surely be beaten, raped and possibly killed for being homosexual.

Impeccably acted, scored, directed and written, "The Imitation Game" is a strong contender in this years Oscars. It is also, arguably one of the most important films nominated this year for it's civil rights subplot. It brings awareness to how poorly this man was treated. A man who saved millions of lives by breaking the German code and shortening the war significantly, chemically castrated and driven into a depression leading to his suicide for the inconsequential fact of his sexual orientation. It is truly a powerful film.

My Rating: 9/10