Review of Michael Collins (1996) by Katrina M — 07 Jun 2007

The most riveting film I've seen in a very long time. I actually can?t name the last film that left me crying as hard. Both Neeson and Rickman deliver powerful emotional performances in what many consider their best roles ever. Fantastic cast all around, even though most of their attempts at a particular county accent left much to be desired (*cough* Julia Roberts *cough*).

The cinematography is absolutely breathtaking - capturing everything from the hopelessness of the defeats in the ashy cities to the beauty of the Irish landscapes. The pacing is very good as well, even though it is a bit long. Some say there was a biased portrayal of De Valera along with a handful of historical inaccuracies but let us face the real facts of it: this is Hollywood, not a history lesson. It is well known that most real lives don't translate very well on to the screen, so subtlety and imagination must be applied liberally. Unfortunately, Collins's true story doesn't lend itself very well to a movie since his life had a real straightforwardness that is lacking here. Instead of fictionalizing the character, which is almost always necessary in movies; writer, director and fellow Irishman Neil Jordan used the actual facts and slightly twisted them, which only usually works for historical films, and it certainly worked here.

Hopefully this film will inspire all or most of its viewers to learn more about Mick, Dev, and Irish history.

Overall, a nice combination of drama, action and romance and highly recommended regardless of anyone's stance on Irish-English relations and/or knowledge of the events portrayed in this film.