'71

Tracking a young British soldier who fights for his life after being stranded by his unit on the vicious streets of Belfast, this 1971-set thriller is as grubby, tense and frenetic as the Northern Ireland conflict itself. Debutant Yann Demange does a sterling job in the director's chair, bringing a Paul Greengrass-esque urgency to the action with a combination of regular close-up shots and (not-too-shaky) hand-held camera work. Demange wisely opts for a quality over quantity approach to the brutal violence too, resulting in a few impactful events of savagery and gore that enhance the tension and dread rather than exploit it. Occurring over one night only, Demange – working from Gregory Burke's sparing, taut script – wrings suspense from moments as small as an uncomfortable conversation in a bar, and as big as a cat-and-mouse set piece in an apartment complex or the dazed aftermath of an explosion. It's not all smooth sailing though. The relatively unexplained bookending scenes are a tad cheesy and add little, whilst the bulk of the supporting characters are rarely more than stereotypes, albeit played with gusto. But this movie unmistakably belongs to lead actor, and recent BAFTA Rising Star winner, Jack O'Connell. His Private Gary Hook is resilient yet fragile, strong-willed yet frightened, making him a relatable everyman who will do anything to stay alive. It's not a film you could call "fun", but it's a riveting watch that rewards those willing to be immersed in its gritty and uncompromising survival story.

Set against the complex backdrop of the beginnings of Northern Ireland in 71 but before Bloody Sunday really turned the tide in the favour of the IRA in 72 this is an extremely well made taught piece of drama. With an assured performance by rising star Jack O'Connell in the lead, he plays a young soldier Gary Hook recently deployed to Northern Ireland who finds himself out of his dept when going on his first patrol thanks to the incompetence of his CO (Sam Reid) - Separated from his unit and lost in a city he doesn't know he's forced in a fight for survival as its hard to tell who is friend and who is foe in this extremely well written piece of drama. The writer here has taken care not to paint one side entirely good or bad and that is how it was. Wounded and armed with nothing but a knife Hook has enemies closing in from all sides as the film draws to a bloody climax.

I don't want to be accused of gushing praise, but there is much to compliment the whole team involved here, from the tones of the production design, beautifully capturing the mood feel and look of the 1970's in drab pastels and the grey of urban decay. The editing, directing, lighting is all bang on the money but greatest of all is the casting, for it is not only O'Connell who shines here, but the younger members of the cast almost upstage him with their brilliant performances. Two stand outs of the younger cast were Corey McKinley (Listed rather almost like an extra on here as 'Loyalist Child which seems a little unfair) and Barry Keoghan - The former is clearly a star in the making with his ballsy performance while Keoghan with almost no lines makes an amazing impact with simple looks conveying the struggles of emotion he feels inside when it comes to committing to a path of violence. Veterans Sean Harris brings his creepy presence to the duplicitous under cover unit commander but it is an energetic performance by O'Connell that brings it all together. Let us hope we do not loose him to Hollywood entirely. The film also takes time to give Hooks character some context, so we have some idea of his own life and attachments back home. A man almost without a family but not without people who are depending on him, this is a true depicting for many whom join the army, an alternative to spending life on the dole.

This film is living proof that we can make thrilling and exciting cinema in the UK but still leave some room for Social Commentary within the context of a great story - an excellent thriller which hints at the dark path that was to follow in Northern Ireland for many years. Strongly recommended.

What a roller coaster of a film from beginning to end - Jack O Connell is brilliant and the supporting cast are thoroughly believable and the acting top class- my favourite star for the future Corey McKinley who plays the loyalist boy; he highlights the difference between Catholic and Loyalist which make the film a history lesson as well as a movie- its an advert for the British Film Industry - when making a film about the troubles to capture the mood of the time and to bring that to the screen depicting the different factions and hatred that came with it is difficult but whoever researched the period, got the costume and feel of the City of Belfast spot on created a Gem. The riot scene felt as if you were there in the thick of it, the building tension between the thin barricade of soldiers and the baying mob. This film is worthy of awards and I hope it gets lots as it will encourage others to make similar movies. Go and see it, ignore some of the inane comments on here that this isn't true- believe me having been on the receiving end of a riot at the Divis flats mid 1980's I can tell you it was like reliving the moment. The film captures the distorted angry faces the looks of shock and fear- very well made film indeed

War tends to find its way in movies the way a car chase, love triangle or training sequence does, as a backdrop for profound introspection (Apocalypse Now) or profound absurdity (Battleship). '71, directed by Yann Demange, which screened at the New York Film Festival, does not concern itself with the impossibility of unraveling the politics behind violence, or implant an over-the- top action sequence, but uses the Northern Ireland conflict of the late 60's and early 70's as context, not base.

The Catholic/ Protestant, or even English/ Irish conflict is not covered in great detail which allows the film to construct its own sensibility: a netherworld where an English soldier sent to Belfast, Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell), must find trust and a way back. Houses are not homes, but bunkers for families supposedly hiding guns and trying to raise children. Bombs are the weapons of choice and children are the only ones with answers, creating a sci-fi texture to the film. This is a thriller and the plot is something you can find out about when you actually see the movie.

War, conflict (whatever you want to call killing a bunch of people) is an abyss not just of death, but of trust—who values my life? No one. Yet Demange does not attempt to make an affected statement about war, and focuses on the grey of the conflict with Gary as his sharp, contrasting center. As Gary slowly emerges through the desolate streets of Belfast he is greeted by a boy (Corey McKinley) who seems to be his only salvation. The boy struts, demanding respect as he cusses out his fellow "comrades" in a scene that could be strait out of Blade Runner.

During the Q&A after the film Demange recalled not wanting McKinley to rehearse too much, he didn't want an actor, but a real boy who in such a setting needs an armor of bravado to stay alive. McKinley, who Demange found at a boxing ring (he's 9), preferred boxing to rehearsing in between scenes, and it paid off. Besides O'Connell McKinley is the most memorable actor in the film. O'Connell, who made a mark with This is England and the series Skins, recently burst into films consciousness with the prison drama Starred Up, and is about to find himself in epic American waters with Angelina Jolie's directorial debut Unbroken. At only twenty-four years of age O'Connell has managed to create a provoking and mature persona. With a gruff low voice and edgy exterior, O'Connell brings a swagger which is unparalleled as almost every scene belongs to him and the film works because of him.

I am a bit afraid after his American debut, O'Connell will somehow loose his edge, but he comes across as smarted than the Hollywood unconsciousness. He has a lot to give us and this is only the beginning, handle with care (300: Rise of an Empire, yeah he's in that). Although thrillers tend not to be my cup of tea, I like developed characters and layers of plot—'71 takes place in the span of 24 hours—it is still an exceptional piece mainly due to O'Connell's masterful performance, Demange's restrained direction and Tat Radcliffe's stylized cinematography.

'71 is still making the festival rounds and does not yet have a U.S. release date, but will be released in the U.K. on October 10th.

@MeMontgom filmnoises.com

In 1971 I was living on the fringes of Derry's Bogside. On several occasions my home was 'collateral damage' in a number of bombings and I remember lying on the floor of my bedroom in case I might fall victim to a stray bullet from one of the gun-battles raging outside. I drank in pubs that would be bombed in time and I was on the march on Bloody Sunday. Things were bad in Derry in 1971 but they were a lot worse in Belfast which is where and when Yann Demange's terrific movie "'71" is set. Maybe it's because I had first-hand experience but I've never really taken to films about 'the Troubles'. Irish film-makers have usually shied away from the subject, (a rare good exception being Jim Sheridan's "In the Name of the Father" and that was set mostly in England), leaving it up to the English and the Americans to tackle them, mostly ineptly, (exceptions again being Alan Clarke's made-for-television film "Elephant" and Steve McQueen's "Hunger"), so my expectations of "'71" were far from high, yet I believe this will be the film about the Northern Ireland 'Troubles' by which all others will be judged. Firstly nothing happens on screen that seems far-fetched or exaggerated, (and here is a film that doesn't pull its punches in showing the collusion between the British Government and paramilitaries on both sides). It's a film that could never have been made in the seventies and even 20 years ago it would have been banned here in Northern Ireland. Politically, it's dynamite but it's as a nail-biting, nerve-shredding thriller that it really makes its mark. In may respects it's a very minimalist work, taking place almost entirely over the course of one night and is really made up of two lengthy set-pieces. It's about Private Hook, (a superb Jack O'Connell), a young British solider who, on his first day of active service in Belfast, is separated from his platoon and forced to go on the run in a totally alien landscape where he is seen as 'the enemy' to be hunted down and killed. We've seen this story before. In "Odd Man Out" James Mason was the IRA man on the run in an equally treacherous Belfast but as they say, it's a tale as old as time. Outstanding American examples have included "Deliverance" and "Southern Comfort", albeit in very different settings, but few have packed the punch of "'71"; this is a terrifyingly tense thriller.

It's also the feature debut of Yann Demange who handles the material with all the assurance of a Paul Greengrass. He shoots it as if it were a newsreel, using mostly a hand-held camera, (the DoP is Tat Radcliffe), putting the audience in the centre of things. For once, all the performances are superb. In the past actors playing either Ulstermen or the occupying forces have often been reduced to nothing more than mouth-pieces; not here. Everyone on screen is utterly believable. This is one of the finest films you will see all year.