Four Days in July

Set in mid-80's Belfast at the height of the Irish Troubles, Four Days in July was the last film that Mike Leigh made for the BBC. The most famous of his output for the corporation were the exquisite comedy-dramas Nuts in May (1976) and Abigail's Party (1977) but as I have worked through the other films, it has become increasingly obvious that those two stellar TV movies aren't necessarily typical examples of Leigh's BBC output. Most are like this very film and are fairly downbeat ultra-realist social dramas. While there are comedy moments, it is just moments and the emphasis is for the most part on the small-scale dramas of working class people. This one is also typical in that it is a slice-of-life and doesn't really have any narrative to speak of.

Set around the July the 12th Orange marching season which celebrates the 1690 victory of William of Orange at the Battle of the Boyne; a battle where the Protestant forces defeated their Catholic equivalents. It focuses on two couples from each side of the religious divide, both of whom are expecting their first child. The politics remain mostly in the periphery and it's the more everyday small life details that are the focus. I guess the idea was to show that both sides are peopled with people who are basically very similar, although it would only be fair to say that Leigh's sympathies lie mostly with the Catholic couple in that they are presented as more reasonable. But, on the whole, the conversations and characters could have come from anywhere such is the banalities of their chat. When both couples finally do come into contact with one and other in the hospital there is an uneasy truce of sorts compromising mainly of awkward silences.

While this is well acted and boldly made in a decidedly uncommercial manner, I can't say I found it all that engaging on the whole. Nothing too much of interest happens, and while this may be the point, it did compromise my overall interest in this one.

Although Leigh has managed frequently to transcend budget and medium constraints, making fantastic TV movies, Four Days In July is not such an addition to his cannon. Instead, Four Days In July is a very protracted character study in which the camera merely observes several characters living in Ireland for four days in July. The actors, as always with Leigh, are fantastic; however, the material is the stuff that real life is made of. This can be interesting, as the neo-realist movement proved; however, this movie has no point or conclusion, but simply rambles on until the running time has expired. Furthermore, the Irish accents were virtually impenetrable at times to me; subtitles would have helped. For die-hard Leigh buffs only; for all others, watch Abigail's Party instead.

What really strikes the viewer about this movie is its lack of bitterness or moral judgment. Almost no one comes off as angry, pessimistic, or nasty; rather, people joke, celebrate, and live their middle-class existences without rancor. I also found Director Mike Leigh's ability to make a movie with very little action and lots of dialogue remain interesting extraordinary.