The performance of Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon really made In the Name of the Father much better and I can’t think of Conlon without seeing Day-Lewis in the role, glad he got nominated for Best Actor. The whole scene of them showing the Godfather only for a riot to break out and some flaming stuff happening is perhaps one of the most crazy scene I saw in this film. Trevor Jones score here is pretty amazing and the songs like Jimi Hendrix one which admittedly distracted me from the movie due to how a banger the song is.

Incredibly shot and an intense experience. One of the top political dramas out there.

A good story about the independence struggle in Norther-Ireland through the eyes of a father and his son. Excellent performance by Daniel Day-Lewis.

It has one of those great opening scenes that pulls you in right away. Great staging, amazing music choice, solid writing; just very impressively done overall. What follows is a below average drama in need of better direction. It’s already not the most dramatically compelling story due to the morality of the situation being very black & white, however when you add the unsubtle portrayal of the British secret service/juridical/prison system, cheesy score, hammy sound effects and overacting (even from DDL on occasion), it starts to feel cheap on an artistic level. I just don’t buy how a lot of these scenes are presented, it rings to me as too sensationalized and/or poorly researched. On the other hand, the characters are pretty well defined and I enjoyed the contrast between Gerry and Giuseppe. I like that their relationship becomes the main focus as the film moves along, thereby providing a unique spin on the prison genre. However, once everything reaches its conclusion it doesn’t leave you with much to chew on. There’s moments of effective sadness along the way, but it ultimately struggles to move beyond the surface at any point. Again, it’s just too basic for my liking, occasionally manipulative and lacking in vision. In other words, not surprised it received a Best Picture nomination. 4/10

Wasn’t expecting a movie like this. What a tragic real life story about a failing justice system. Awesome movie with some great acting!