Bloody Sunday

Bloody Sunday

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Movie Reviews of Bloody Sunday

Movie Review: Finally an attempt to present the Irish side of the story
Summary: 5 Stars

Two British filmmakers decided to examine the events leading up to the scurrilous massacre in Derry in this 2002 docudrama aptly titled "Bloody Sunday." Surprisingly, depending on what view you take concerning the mess that is Northern Ireland, the filmmakers fully support the theory that the British bear most of the responsibility for the massacre. According to the film, the British "high command" made it clear to the rank and file that there would be no march through Derry that day. An environment of inflexibility from the top down virtually guaranteed repressive violence, and so there was. Watching the film recreate the events of January 30th is a gut wrenching experience, especially as the marchers near the barricades in the Catholic Bogside neighborhood. When the Paras finally open up on the crowd, they aren't shooting rubber bullets. Protestors are executed after falling to the ground, fired upon while attempting to retrieve wounded comrades, and shot in the back as they run from the British killers. The Army claimed Irish Republican Army militants mingled with the crowd and fired first, thus provoking an appropriate response from the Paras. Yeah, right. This claim became the basis for the findings of several British inquiries into the massacre, a claim that completely ignored or marginalized the fact that the Derry Civil Rights Movement was a peaceful organization merely protesting an illegal government policy.

To help construct the lengthy narrative required to put the event into context, the filmmakers focus their attentions on Irish MP Ian Cooper (James Nesbitt) and a young Irish man recently released from jail who ultimately takes part in the march with disastrous consequences. Most of the attention goes to Nesbitt's Cooper, a man stridently fighting for the right to peacefully protest the internment policy. His character roams the streets of Derry, handing out flyers about the march, attempting to keep the protest going in the face of concerns about British actions, and working hard to keep the IRA out of the picture. Simultaneously, we see the British soldiers planning their response to the protest. There's a crusty general with a no nonsense attitude about any organized activity in Northern Ireland (he simply won't have it whether it's the IRA or non-violent protestors), and his underlings who express a bit more concern about the proceedings. Of particular note are the behind the scenes looks at the Paras, young men with a lot of bravado and a negative attitude about the Irish people. Yes, the film takes these young commandos to task, but it also shows how fear of the Irish marchers led directly to murder.

"Bloody Sunday" is shot using hand held cameras and dramatic fade-outs and fade-ins to add a dimension of slowly unfolding tension to the actions of the characters, and it works. I felt sick to my stomach as I watched soldiers gunning down innocent civilians, felt deeply moved as Ian Cooper anguished over having to inform families about the deaths of their loved ones, and felt my Irish blood rise as the credits rolled to the tune of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday." There is a scene towards the end of the film where Cooper holds a press conference to discuss the massacre, and he grimly tells the assembled journalists that the British just gave the IRA its greatest victory. Sure enough, the Irish Republican Army gained hundreds of recruits after the killings, a fact hammered home in the film during a scene when young men line up to receive weapons from an IRA safehouse. I cannot say I blame these kids; I would have joined up too after such an egregious incident even though violence often causes more problems than solutions.

The DVD edition of "Bloody Sunday" comes with a lot of extras, including an interview with an elderly Ian Cooper about the events of January 1972, a trailer, interviews with Nesbitt and other cast members, a couple of commentaries, and a great looking widescreen transfer. We will never know for sure what exactly happened on that bloody day, but this movie goes a long way towards presenting a more balanced interpretation of events. If the British had only admitted to SOME wrongdoing in Derry, and there was British wrongdoing, many subsequent deaths may have been averted. Perhaps this film will help lead to relief of sorts for the beleaguered Irish still struggling under British influence. Whatever your view, "Bloody Sunday" is a gripping film well worth watching.

Summary of Bloody Sunday