En el nombre del padre

You're left wondering how many people over the years have been through the legal system in the UK and have been framed by those we place the ultimate trust within. It really does shake your confidence in a system and the people responsible for implementing it. Daniel Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite bring this story to life with two magnificent performances and allow you to forgive those slight variations that misalign with actual events.

Jim Sheridan's astonishingly fantastic 'In the Name of the Father' tells the brutally direct story of a wrongfully accused family who are tortured into making a false confession and imprisoned by the British justice system. Sheridan has a way of telling his stories where he gets straight to the point and does not fear to show the reality of the situation while keeping us viewers at the edge of our seats. The film is based on Gerry Conlan's autobiography where Daniel Day-Lewis plays the central character. Sheridan effectively portrays Gerry and Giuseppe's struggle and fight against injustice and his portrayal of the corrupt British justice system is frightening. Just the idea that people could get away with such things in a country like the UK is chilling and Sheridan skillfully brings that across on screen. Terry George's brilliant screenplay with rich characters and solid dialogues forms a good backbone for the film. I also liked how the humour was infused in a modest dose as not to interfere with the intensity of the story. There are some excellent performances. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a suitably explosive performance as he breathes fire into the role while Pete Postlethwaite is sublime and equally outstanding as Gerry's father, Giuseppe. Though father and son do have issues to fight over, it is Giuseppe who is Gerry's conscience and Postlethwaite's heartbreaking act really touches the heart. Emma Thompson holds her own and she is simply excellent. The rest of the cast do a superb job (watch out for Tom Wilkinson in a bit role). The soundtrack fits the mood of the film and the cinematography is good, especially in the prison sequences, where it creates that feeling of claustrophobia which gets stronger after Gerry is alone in his cell. I have liked all of Sheridan's ' films that I have seen so far and 'In The Name Of The Father' is another remarkable film from this fine director. It is a difficult movie to watch due to some disturbing themes and scenes (though most of them are rather suggestive it is the idea behind that sends chills down the spine) but it is definitely worth watching.

A man (Daniel Day-Lewis)'s coerced confession to an IRA bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. An English lawyer fights to free them.

This film is a great combination of history and court drama. Sometimes both mix very nicely (as with the Nuremberg trial) and sometimes they do not. Here, we get a nice glimpse at the IRA in Ireland without dwelling on it too much and also get the true story of a family that was wronged by the state for their alleged involvement in terror.

Ireland today is not the same place it was a generation ago, but it is not so far removed that this story is "distant history" and not important. Heck, Americans should probably know more about it than what they pick up from a U2 song.

Even though this movie seems a bit too black and white from time to time I must say that it still is an impressive piece of cinema. Too black and white because I sometimes had the feeling that they had left out some parts to make it all a lot easier for the viewer. I can't help believing that Conlon and Hill weren't the nicest guys either, but the movie shows them almost as saints (except for the fact that they steal some lead from the roofs, they never really do anything wrong). Does that mean that this movie isn't any good? Certainly not! It still remains very impressive and the idea that injustice in the name of protecting the country should be allowed is awful and so it is good that at least some movie makers aren't afraid to protest against it.

The movie tells the story about Gerry Conlon and his old school friend Paul Hill. They both are small time criminals and because of their own safety they have to live in London for a while. Otherwise they might get shot by the IRA. In London they stay in a community of hippies, but aren't welcomed by everybody. As a bomb explodes in a pub, one of the members from the community goes to the police and accuses them of the crime. They are immediately apprehended, together with Conlon's father, his aunt and her family. What follows is a process full of corruption and false accusations, putting them in jail for many years even though they haven't done anything wrong.

The film is very good. It's well acted, well paced and well directed. The story is touching and I never got bored when watching it. Therefor I give it an 8/10.

Name of the Father came out one year before The Shawshank Redemption and is bar none the better film. Shawshank is a great film but Name of the Father has more of human story to it. Daniel Day Lewis is a great actor with more potential now than he did when he won his first Oscar for My Left Foot and since then he has never starred in a film which he has acted badly in. Some of the stories have not been amazing but his acting makes up for it. This was the second time That Daniel Day Lewis and Jim Sheridan have come together to make a film. In all they have done three but Name of the father is by far the best. Pete Postlethwaite is another example of fine acting as he is the best actor in England since who ever was the last greatest actor.

Daniel Day Lewis plays Gerry Conlon who is a seventies hippie who doesn't want to grow up. He has had so many troubles at home his father

Giuseppe played by Postlethwaite decides to pack him off to London for his own safety and not become a lost soul amongst the troubles in Belfast. But when Gerry gets there he might as well wish he never went there in the first place as the trouble from Belfast follows him and before you know it a bomb goes off in a pub near to where he is staying and is not long arrested for the bomb along with his friends and family including his father.

From there we are taken into this grieving story of strength, hope, tragedy and family. The story between father and son in jail is more touching and compelling than any love story you will ever see because these two men who have never really seen eye to eye are forced to confront each other's feeling and face up to where they stand in the world. Also Pete Postlewaite reminds me of my own father and my grandfather and yours two. He plays Giuseppe so well so would have thought he was the old guy living next door to you or the man you look up to as a father and spend time with as a granddad. What you have to remind yourself is that the movie is a true story of the Guilford Bombing and the men who paid the price for it. Whether or not you believe Gerry and Giuseppe were guilty of the Guilford Bomb is not the case in the film as it's more about the characters and there trials and tribulations.

One film that will always be remembered in my mind about making a difference with your life not matter where you are in the world.