| REVIEW/FILM: 'Michael Collins' Tells History In ...
RTve 9/3/96 7:29 AM
Copyright 1996 Reuters Ltd.
REVIEW/FILM: 'Michael Collins' Tells History In Gangster Style
Michael Collins (Historical drama, British-U.S., Color, R, 2:12)
(In Venice Film Festival -- noncompeting.)
By Todd McCarthy
HOLLYWOOD (Variety) - Such is the catalog it presents of violence,
vendettas, betrayals, vengeance, assassinations and insidious factionalism
that "Michael Collins" intriguingly comes off as political history writ in
the mode of the gangster film.
Intelligent, enormously accomplished and seriously problematic, Neil
Jordan's ambitious account of the activities of arguably the central
figure in Ireland's painful, bloody fight for independence from the British
Empire has a great deal to offer serious, discerning audiences. But there
is also enough that doesn't work to prevent the film from generating the
sort of reviews that will make this a must-see for the target audience
that turns out for select class pictures, especially at a time when
historical subjects rep such a hard sell.
Staggeringly well-made, the film possesses the "Reds" problem, except
more so, in that it is a highly thought-out rendition of a difficult and,
by now, obscure political struggle of the first quarter of the current
century involving names unfamiliar to all but specialists. It follows the
familiar pattern of portraying passionate emotions against a backdrop of
epochal events, but this particular story carries the additional burden of
connecting to an unfortunate situation that persists to the present day,
namely the never-ending conflict in Northern Ireland, even as it
succinctly illuminates how this state of affairs came into being.
Having harbored this dream project since the early '80s, when he first
wrote the script, Jordan has clearly anticipated all of these potential
barriers to audience acceptance. To a surprising degree, he has made
"Michael Collins" a film of tremendous action, incident and momentum. So
many explosions, machine gunnings and executions take place that one could
easily imagine being in Chicago of the '20s rather than in Dublin just a
few years before.
And there is a rather muted, Jules and Jim-style triangular love story
at the center of things that, whether it is historically true or not,
feels somewhat artificially imposed on this otherwise brutal, very tough
minded picture.
Michael Collins was, in essence, a pioneer guerrilla warrior, a
deliberately mysterious, rather subterranean figure who, after the failed
Easter Rising of 1916, realized that any conventional fighting against the
British was doomed to failure. Instead, he raised the Irish Volunteers, a
ragtag band of ordinary citizens who staged stunning ambushes and
shockingly successful hits on the Brits, who had occupied Ireland since
the 12th century.
The terrible opening bombardment of Irish freedom fighters by the
English in 1916, and the subsequent execution of most of the ringleaders,
bluntly establish the brute force with which obedience to the Crown was
sustained. Two years later, Collins (Liam Neeson), one of the foot
soldiers, is released from jail, only to embark at once upon renewed
political activity by giving impassioned speeches and pursuing his
self-appointed position as Minister of Mayhem for the Irish cause.
A "by whatever means necessary" kind of guy, Collins finds his
opportunities for troublemaking vastly increased when a government
informant, Ned Broy (Stephen Rea), gives him access to the names of British
officials, enabling Collins and his men to embark upon a successful
assassination spree.
The Brits, of course, respond in kind, and both sides keep upping the
ante of violence until the conflict begins taking down noncombatant
civilians.
Although Jordan lays in the history and politics clearly enough, the
emphasis through much of this is on scheming, plotting and derring-do,
which the director stages in deft, swift strokes that call to mind the
real-life gangster dramas about to be played out, and subsequently filmed,
on the other side of the Atlantic within a few years.
But the picture takes a couple of turns that trip it up somewhat
dramatically. For a considerable time, Collins and his best friend, Harry
Boland (Aidan Quinn), share the attentions of a lovely young lass, Kitty
Kiernan (Julia Roberts), in a three-way relationship that seems just a tad
too care-and-guilt-free for Irish folk of the time, no matter how
rebellious.
When the president of the renegade Irish Republic, Eamon De Valera
(Alan Rickman), takes Boland to the United States to help raise money for
the cause, Collins finally captures Kitty's heart, marking the beginning
of the fatal split between Collins and Boland and, eventually, between the
skilled military operative and his more extreme superior.
The whole final section, which sees the lead-up to the hero's death
intercut with his fiancee shopping for a wedding dress (the second montage
in the film to resemble a famous one in "The Godfather"), brings the
picture up a little short. It is unfortunate when such a difficult,
ambitious film doesn't quite pay off after building up so much solid
credit, but that is the case here. It is possible that the nature of the
history under consideration is as responsible for this as any other single
factor.
Certainly there are strong efforts here from the many talented hands
involved. Jordan's screenplay is smart, colorful and densely packed, while
his direction moves things along at a breathless pace.
Neeson is a compulsive dynamo as Collins, with the actor seizing his
part with a passion and boldness utterly in keeping with the character's
approach to life and his cause. Rickman effectively plants the seeds early
on that things might not end well between De Valera and Collins. Rea
registers effectively as the surreptitious double agent, while Quinn and
Roberts are winning even as they play roles that remain insufficiently
defined in the writing. Ian Hart scores as Collins' right-hand man to the
bitter end.
After nine years of working as a director following his illustrious
career as a cinematographer, Chris Menges is back manning the camera for
Jordan again, and his work is nothing short of sensational. Parched with
earth tones, Menges' images are seriously artful yet tremendously vital,
and it is great to see a master doing what he does best. Anthony Pratt's
lavish original sets and redressings of contempo Dublin also help bring
the period vibrantly to life, as do Sandy Powell's splendid costumes.
Editing by J. Patrick Duffner and Tony Lawson is fast-paced and clear.
Along with the lensing, the other truly outstanding accomplishment is
Elliot Goldenthal's score, which superbly enhances the action while
constantly surprising with its inventiveness and impressive avoidance of
musical cliches.
Michael Collins .... Liam Neeson
Harry Boland ....... Aidan Quinn
Ned Broy ........... Stephen Rea
Eamon De Valera .... Alan Rickman
Kitty Kiernan ...... Julia Roberts
Joe O'Reilly ....... Ian Hart
Liam Tobin ......... Brendan Gleeson
Tom Cullen ......... Stuart Graham
Smith .............. Sean McGinley
Cathal Brugha ...... Gerard McSorley
Collins' Assassin .. Jonathan Rhys Myers
Soames ............. Charles Dance
A Warner Bros. release of a Geffen Pictures presentation of a Stephen
Woolley production. Produced by Woolley. Co-producer, Redmond Morris.
Directed, written by Neil Jordan. Camera (Technicolor), Chris Menges;
editors, J. Patrick Duffner, Tony Lawson; music, Elliot Goldenthal;
production design, Anthony Pratt; supervising art director, Malcolm
Middleton; art direction, Arden Gantly, Jonathan McKinstry, Cliff Robinson;
set decoration, Josie MacAvin; costume design, Sandy Powell; sound (Dolby
Digital-SDDS), Kieran Horgan; assistant director, Patrick Clayton;
casting, Susie Figgis. Reviewed at Warner Bros. studios, Burbank, Aug. 21,
1996.
Reuters/Variety
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'Michael Collins' Gets British Release This Fall
RTve 9/3/96 7:12 AM
Copyright 1996 Reuters Ltd.
By Adam Dawtrey
VENICE (Variety) - Warner Bros. has decided to go ahead with a fall
release in Britain of the historical drama "Michael Collins", after its
warm reception Saturday at the Venice Film Festival.
Studio executives were using Venice as a test site for public reaction
to the film, fearing that the politically sensitive subject matter could
provoke a backlash from the British media.
The film is about the Irish revolutionary leader whose terrorist
campaign helped win Ireland independence from Britain in the 1920s. It's
due for U.S. release Oct. 11, and now looks set to open later that month
in Britain, rolling out in the remainder of the world early in 1997.
The current Anglo-Irish peace process, aimed at resolving the
sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, is at a delicate stage, with the
republican IRA resuming bombing activities in mainland Britain.
Some Warner executives were nervous that "Michael Collins" could
inflame sentiments on both sides, and were seriously considering delaying
the British release until next year, in the hope that the political
situation might calm down.
British audiences are notoriously averse to movies about the Irish
conflict, as proved by "The Crying Game", which flopped in Britain when
released during a previous IRA terror campaign.
But British reviewers have responded positively to "Michael Collins."
The Evening Standard's Alexander Walker, an Ulsterman who has in the past
been fiercely critical of movies sympathetic to the Irish nationalist
cause, described Michael Collins as an important contribution to
understanding the Irish problem.
British and Irish politicians have also been shown the film at special
screenings in London and Dublin, and endorsed it. The film stars Liam
Neeson, whose appearance at the Venice festival was cut short by surgery
for an intestinal blockage.
Reuters/Variety
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