I saw this film during the Dublin Film Festival, with both director and writer sitting behind me, and it had been billed as an Academy Award nominee, so the feeling of pressure on me to like it was substantial! Not surprisingly though, it left me cold, as films that's subject matter is Northern Ireland usually do! Now I was a little biased into not liking it as the plot line - a girl who has to choose between her Catholic father or the British soldier who saves her horse's life - didn't captivate me. Almost instantly it is obvious it is based on a short story, the narration is wordy and unnatural-sounding. Then we get the identikit characters - the British Army soldiers, comprised of the geezer, the quiet one & the embittered old pro; and the father, a Brit-hating Catholic man. Even for a short film there is no character development, the girl is two dimensional at best & the father is poorly written. Even the finale left me cold, instead of being dramatic it was slightly silly.
The look of the film is excellent however, it is a stylish piece. However, there is no originality here, and the fact that this has been nominated for an Oscar just shows that America are lapping up the stereotypical Troubles stories as much as ever.
The look of the film is excellent however, it is a stylish piece. However, there is no originality here, and the fact that this has been nominated for an Oscar just shows that America are lapping up the stereotypical Troubles stories as much as ever.