Review of In the Name of the Father (1993) by Tamer H — 19 Apr 2009

Gerry Conlon is a petty thief living in Belfast in the 1970's. After running into trouble with the IRA one to many times, his father, Giuseppe, sends him to England. Whilst looking for nothing more than 'free love and weed' Gerry finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, and is falsely accused, arrested and imprisoned for a terrorist attack, and branded one of 'The Guildford Four'.

Giuseppe is also arrested and imprisoned with him. Over 15 years, as Giuseppe's health fails and Gerry's faith in justice fades, it takes the dedication of a fiercely empathetic lawyer to eventually clear their names and expose the truth.

'In the name of the Father' is a thought-provoking, fact based drama that demonstrates the resilience of the human spirit, but also the disgrace of the supposed legal system. What I like most about the film is how it is almost completely un-bias.

We may be on the side of Gerry and his family, and we are following events through their eyes, but the character of Gerry is not as a saint who's never sinned; it is of a petty thief who has been wrongly accused of a horrendous crime.

There are many flaws in Gerry's character; he's a bit of a trouble-maker, he has taken drugs and doesn't always demonstrate large quantities of respect towards his Father. He's generally just a bit of a scally-wag.

These actions however do not justify any of the treatment he under-go's whilst under interrogation and whilst being locked in prison, which makes the truth behind this film all the more infuriating and all the more compelling.

How on Earth did this happen? And what an inescapable failure it was to take 15 years to resolve it. We're angered by the truth behind this film; and the director knows this, and therefore takes a subtle, intelligent and understated approach when directing.

He lets the story speak for itself, and puts in as little embellishment as possible. We want truth, and that's what we get. 2 hours and 13 minutes of it. The cast also do a marvellous job in bringing to life the plight of the Conlon's.

Daniel Day Lewis in particular is fantastic as Gerry, as is Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe and Emma Thompson as their lawyer. Like the screenplay, they all seem to embody a truth in their performance that is translated on to screen perfectly.

'In the name of the Father' is a superb film that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.