The Treaty

Brendan Gleeson is a fine actor and the subject is a highly fascinating one, if difficult to bring to screen. It was also the subject of 'Michael Collins' from five years later (being based on the same subject it is inevitable to compare), and while that film was bigger in budget and had actors that were better known, also a film with many great merits, but it is one of those films to be watched on its own terms as a film rather than a true and un-biased piece of history.

Of which 'The Treaty' does a much better job at being. It is not as big in budget or as visually stunning as 'Michael Collins', but it is more truthful and appreciatively less speculative, explores the subject in much more depth with more sides being explored, has more complexity in characterisation and is nowhere near as black and white. It also doesn't have Julia Roberts's unspeakably awful performance.

Would also have liked a little more focus on the division, but there is really very little wrong with 'The Treaty'.

Its main merits are the cast and script. Brendan Gleeson gives a towering performance as Collins, and the support from particularly Ian Bannon and Tony Doyle is also splendid. The script is also very layered and thought-provoking, with the refusal to not take sides and showing that it was a complex situation shining through. On a factual level, it is very accurate and is not reliant at all on speculation or sacrificing the truth for trying to appeal to modern audiences (like with casting Roberts as a crass box office draw decision).

'The Treaty's' storytelling is nowhere near close to being as dry as it may sound on paper. It absorbs from start to finish and captures everything that was so interesting and complex about the Treaty itself in the first place with different view-points shown effectively. All the characters are well-drawn and non-biased, no clichés or heroes and villains here (not saying that 'Michael Collins' was that exactly, but still stand by finding some of it black-and-white).

Production values are not lavish as such and it is not as beautifully photographed as 'Michael Collins', but they are not cheap either and are perhaps more evocative.

Overall, very good and never less than compelling. 8/10 Bethany Cox

There are several areas of history I enjoy . . . the Irish struggle for freedom is one of them. I found this film to be both educational and entertaining. I voted 8/10 for that reason, not for technical brilliance or visual quality. While well done, this movie would not hold up against the higher-quality Hollywood movies as far as visual richness is concerned. That said, the movie holds a place of honor in my library. It might be difficult to find if you want to buy or rent it, but it is worth the effort. Surprisingly, the movie stars a couple actors well known in the States -- Ian Bannen and Brendan Gleeson (who just had a major part in the latest Harry Potter offering.) If you like history, or if you want to know some of the history of the IRA or the Irish / British battle, see this movie!

I agree completely with the reviewer from Cork that this is a fascinating movie. It's a dramatization of the agonizing negotiations that led to the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922. This is a subject that is pretty much jumped over in the Neil Jordan film "Michael Collins" but which lies at the heart of the current divisions in Ireland. As a result of these negotiations came the bitter Irish civil war and the partition of the island that has caused so much grief in the years since. If you listen you will note the manipulation of events by the principal characters (especially DeValera and Lloyd George) and the betrayals, small and large,and the failure of promises made that led to the divided Ireland of the years since.

Brendan Gleason's portrayal of Collins seems far more reliable and realistic than the one done by Liam Neeson. Gleason's Collins, far from being a "yob from West Cork" is revealed as an intelligent, realistic individual who was well able to hold his own in the company of the British cabinet as well as the sophisticated guests at a dramatized dinner party held by Hazel, Lady Lavery.

Some of the other performances a very good as well. I especially like Ian Bannen's foxy Lloyd George and the late Tony Doyle's portrayal of Arthur Griffith. As an aside about historical accuracy. Griffith was the actual leader of the Irish delegation, as shown here. The Neil Jordan movie incorrectly implies that Collins himself was the leader.

So, if Hollywood fiction and romantic interest are your cup of tea, by all means watch the Neil Jordan movie. But if you really want to learn something about the reasons things are the way they are, try to find a copy of this film. This won't be easy as it doesn't seem to exist in any commercailly available edition. My own copy was taped from a TV broadcast. I hope that one day it will be available for purchase.

I purchased the DVD through the Collins 22 Society on the web. I think both Neeson and Gleeson portrayed Collins well. Gleeson was lucky enough to work with writers who portrayed Collins' intellectual side better. It's hinted at in "Michael Collins." The list of noteworthy Irish and British actors is impressive, and Doyle is excellent as the leader (as said in an earlier post--yes, Griffith was the leader) of the delegation.

It would take a 10 part series to properly include all the intrigue, side deals, secret meetings, and counter-intelligence involved in that short period of time. This film does well in giving the essence, if not the details, of the time.

This is by far a better dramatization of Michael Collins than the Neil Jordan film. Brendan Gleeson is wonderful as Collins and even looks much like him. I found it ironic that he was still not a big enough "name" for Jordan to cast him as Collins, yet he was cast as Collins' companion on his last fatal journey home.

Jordan's Michael Collins passed over Collins' role in the negotiations that created the Itish Free State, although it did reference it. Jordan picked the story up again with Collins' return from England and the rejection of the treaty by the die-hard Republicans as the prelude to the Civil War that cost Collins his life. The Treaty goes a long way to explaining how the divisive situation came about.

I taped The Treaty from TV and have viewed it over and over. I would really love to see it issued as a DVD.