A review of the new film “Belfast”
My first visit to Belfast was the week after the troops were put on the streets in August 1969. Subsequently my work in the House of Commons and the Northern Ireland Office took me there some 30 times and I met all the leading local politicians from Ian Paisley to John Hume.
As a result, I’ve tended to stay away from films about the Troubles, but writer and director Kenneth Branagh’s black & white homage to the city of his childhood is more a coming-of-age story rather than an examination of the conflict itself, so it bears comparison with “Hope And Glory” and “Empire Of The Sun”.
The casting of the Protestant family is wonderful. Jude Hill as the nine year old Billy – the personification of Branagh himself in this semi-autobiographical tale – is an absolute delight. His parents are played by Jamie Dornan (himself from Belfast) and Caitriona Balfe (best known as a model), while his grandparents are portrayed by veteran actors Ciarán Hinds (another Belfaster) and Judi Dench.
In spite of the discrimination and violence on display, the story is told with compassion and humour and the evocation of period and setting is well-done. However, the messaging is not exactly subtle: for instance, the minister’s sermon comes over as a parody and the visual and aural references to the film “High Noon” are overdone.