Michael Collins

viewed October 2, 1999 on video

For full information about this film, click here

Neil Jordan presents a civilized terrorist in his elegant (and thus misguided) telling of the Irish revolt post-Easter 1916, and a smattering of the civil war that ensued following the forming of the Free State.  Liam Neeson is his chief accomplice, playing the mastermind of mass mayhem as a soulful but forceful leader, basically a nice guy put in the hapless situation of doing the dirty work for the movement.  There's a heck of a cast involved here, (my favorite is Ian Hart as Collins' scruffy lieutenant).  But what the hell is Julia Roberts doing in this movie?  She isn't credible for a minute as an Irish woman -- and it doesn't help that her character is a frivolous love interest and nothing more.  The plot takes us through a number of tense situations, but rarely burrows into the title character to explore his inner demons or his culpability in killing innocent people en route to his goal.  Thus you know that this movie is headed for a Gandhi-type ending of the unappreciated, misunderstood martyr.  The camera of John Seale, as always, makes everything look beautiful, including the bombings and massacres -- thus aiding the soft sell of Jordan's romanticized revolt.  They must have taken Yeats literally, giving birth to a terrible beauty of a movie.

Home