Veronica Guerin
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.99 You Save: $6.00 (60%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.60 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Veronica Guerin
Movie Review: THE MAGNIFICENT CATE
Summary: 5 Stars
CATE BLANCHETT is a marvelous actress, one whose dexterity in playing any kind of role (e.g. THE GIFT), will one day elevate her to the Meryl Streep class of actress.Cate's overwhelming portrayal of journalist Veronica Guerin is nothing but brilliant, and she was sadly overlooked by Oscar, who usually eats up this kind of performance. Even though she won no award, Blanchett infuses Veronica Guerin with a smoldering passion, a strong sense of commitment and perseverance, and a loving mother and wife, whose actions endanger all of them, but she sticks to it. Cate has so many moments of excellence, one can't really elucidate on them without going on and on; suffice to say, Cate is magnificent.
Director Joel Schumacher leaves his action film techniques behind and crafts an envigorating yet sad film. Blanchett is supported by a tremendous cast: Gerard McSorney as John Gilligan is one of the most vile characters on celluloid and McSorney's performance is frightening and powerful. The scene where he attacks Veronica and beats her to a pulp is one of the most disturbing scenes I've witnessed in a long time. Ciaran Hinds (SUM OF ALL FEARS) is brilliant as Veronica's informant and eventual executioner. One can see how he is torn and yet remains selfish enough to save his own hide. Don Wycherley as police inspector Chris Mulligan hits the right note of being a good policeman and friend to the controversial Guerin; Brenda Fricker in a small role as Veronica's mother is good in a controlled, yet highly emotive performance; Barry Barnes as Veronica's husband is strong, supportive, yet frustrated at the possibility of losing his wife; Paudge Behan as the self proclaimed stud Barry is chilling in a small, yet effective performance; and of course, in a cameo role, Schumacher favorite Colin Farrell plays a tattooed young man whose one brief scene establishes the humanity of Guerin.
VERONICA GUERIN doesn't really give us the whole story, but Cate Blanchett gives us her entire being in a riveting, gut-wrenching performance.
Highly recommended.
Movie Review: Uplifting and sad at the same time
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie, based on the true life of Irish journalist for the Sunday Independent Veronica Guerin, is uplifting and sad in unison. I found myself amazed at the courage shown by this woman in facing the organized crime in Ireland, fighting to make the world a better place by exposing these people. On the other side, it is sad to know that her quest had nefarious results for her and her family. This is one of the best movies I have seen this year, and knowing that these events really happened lifts it to another level for me.The movie starts with the shooting of Veronica after she gets out from court where she was facing charges on twelve hundred parking violations and a couple of speeding tickets for going over one hundred miles per hour. Then, the action goes back and starts revealing how the journalist got to that point. Veronica Guerin was a journalist that felt empty when writing casual and non-critical articles, so when she is assigned to the crime section, she finds a cause she can embrace. In Ireland, the drug trade has driven crimes rates to a record high, and a myriad of youngsters are living in the streets, having only one desire...to get high. Veronica's quest consists in connecting the drugs to the crime lords and bring the organization down. To do this she starts relentlessly pursuing these dangerous people and gets her family and herself into dangerous situations. "The Monk", "The Coach" and "The General", among others, are getting nervous.
While watching this movie you will find yourself cheering for the heroine, and getting worried and scared for what may happen to her and her family. Cate Blanchett has a stellar performance, which makes the character even more likable. This actress focuses a good part of her time on plays, but I would really love if she decided to devote a larger part of her time to movies, which is what I usually have access to.
Movie Review: Another star in Cate Blanchett's impressive repertoire
Summary: 5 Stars
Despite the media's devastatingly misjudged reviews of VERONICA GUERIN the film is so fine that it will survive by word of mouth. Joel Schumacher understands this type of story - in this case a true stroy of an Irish reporter's murder due to her indomitable fight to expose the Drug Lords of Dublin. He makes us face the ugly aspects of the drug underworld and its pitiful victims, yet he also knows how to harness the audience reaction to drive home a point. If anything this film is a fine example, like TRAFFIC, of calling attention to a true international crisis - drugs with the associated greed of those perpetrating their use and the devastating effect on our youth, our citizery, our cities, our future. Bravo to Joel Schumacher for his ongoing drive to make the grimy things public.But kudos are definitely in order for the entire cast of this film. Cate Blanchett in the title role has carefully studied the woman on whose life this is based and in doing so she is able to give a performance that is deeply felt, sensitively portrayed, and a complete pleasure to watch AND hear! The cast supporting her includes such fine talents as Brenda Fricker, Ciaran Hinds, Gerard McSorley and even Colin Farrell in a tiny cameo role. Farrell's appearance, despite its brevity, has a solid impact and seems more than an homage to Joel Schumacher who gave his his first major role in TIGERLAND.
The cinematography captures Dublin and the countryside of Ireland in all its rainy, grimy beauty and the musical score is hauntingly appropriate. As the public responds en masse to the funeral procession of Veronica Guerin there is a sense of the Argentinian response to the death of Evita Peron - a country paying tribute to a heroine. Give this film a chance, tells your friends to see it - the message and quality of VERONICA GUERIN is that good.
Movie Review: A Profile in Courage
Summary: 5 Stars
Joel Schumacher's film "Veronica Guerin" is breathtaking. Its total immersion into the Irish culture and the cinematography make Ireland jump to life. The universal thematic aspects of the film make it a timeless classic: a woman who fights for truth against the odds, the scourges of drugs, the lack of caring for the poor, and the feminist aspect of a female journalist in a man's world. There is so much meat in this film that if it were a meal, it'd be a thick juicy steak. Schumacher's pacing for the film works well. The film told in flashback allows the audience to prepare for the inevitable ending without the despair of tragedy, but with hope engendered by courage and bravery. Cate Blanchett's portrayal of Veronica is studied, heartfelt, and on the money. Showing the woman with flaws and all emphasizes the reality of the piece. The DVD sequence of the deleted scene of Blanchett as Veronica receiving an award and then the replay of the real-life Veronica Guerin receiving the same award demonstrates how fine a portrayal Blanchett has accomplished.
The Irish supporting cast offer fine performances by Brenda Fricker as the mother, Gerry O'Brien as Martin Cahill, Alan Devine as "the monk," Ciaran Hinds (The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover & Lara Croft Tomb Raider) as John Traynor and Gerald McSorley's chilling John Gilligan. Colin Farrell who Schumacher directed in "Tigerland" & "Phone Booth" has an excellent cameo that is essential to the plot.
The biographical nature of the film married to its great theatricality makes this essential viewing for those who like their cinema well done. This is one profile in courage that happened after but could have fit into John Kennedy's book. Bravo!
Movie Review: The Life She Gave, The Difference She Made
Summary: 5 Stars
This review of Joel Schumacher's homage to the martyred Irish journalist is written to honor her on the tenth anniversary of her death.
Cate Blanchett is riveting as the title character, who faces down incredible danger, not only to herself, but to her family as well, as she tries to make her job as a journalist more substantial by reporting on Dublin's growing drug problem, rather than sticking with comparatively minor stories such as church scandals. I feel her performance had more substance than that of Joan Allen's in another film based on Guerin's life.
Brenda Fricker is Veronica's likeable and concerned mother, and the other standout performances are by Ciaran Hinds and Gerard McSorley as Guerin's two main nemeses.
Guerin's tragic end, although foreseen at the beginning can make a viewer reel. But the equally powerful aftermath is noteworthy, too. It was literally and figuratively a case of "getting the Irish up", and the decrease in the drug problem, and the persecution of the drug lords, and the confiscation of their ill-gotten gains.
Perhaps Guerin could be considered the unofficial Patron Saint of journalists. This film magnificently captures the grittiness and terror of the underworld, and Guerin's bravery in facing it.
As Christ left an imprint on the cloth with which Guerin's presumed Patron Saint wiped His face along the Via Dolorosa, so too, did this Veronica leave a powerful imprint upon her country and help change it for the better. The name, "Veronica" means "true image", and she definitely held a mirror up to her countrymen and women and made them see and face up to an unflattering truth about a specific problem in their country. Peace to her spirit, and peace and strength to her widower and son.