The Story of the Guildford Four
Added 12/3/2009
In the Name of the Father
The film opens on a corner store at night. There is an explosion! It began in Belfast Ireland. Young men are stealing metal from a roof when they are fired upon by British soldiers. The community tries to help but the armored cars push through. The crowd throws stones at the soldiers. The IRA threatens the young thieves with being shot in their leg as punishment for starting trouble near their safe house. Gerry is exiled to England for safety. "Honest money goes further." Gerry stays at a house of squatters; they are vegetarians. [Does Gerry seem headed for trouble?] These squatters act like children, as if they never grew up. There is noise from an explosion. They stay at a park at night. Gerry trespasses and steals a small fortune, then returns home.
Somebody told the police that Gerry had a lot of money. The police break in and arrest Gerry as a suspect. [No subtitles.] Intensive interrogation breaks Gerry down. His family is arrested! Psychological tricks are used to get a written confession. Was it torture? Gerry's Dad was arrested after he went to see a lawyer! Gerry's speech shows his personal problems. [Was his cell bugged?] One guard notes the words in the visitor's room. "Danny's dead." [An incurable thief is a potential informer.] Nitrite tests on hands? [Recently painted surfaces?] The accused are in court. Were they all guilty? Physical and mental cruelty? There was no corroboration. Is Gerry convincing as a witness? Paul said they put a gun in his mouth to get a confession. This is a very emotional case and people are angry.
The jury finds the defendants guilty as charged, along with Conlon's relatives. The judge regrets he can't order the death penalty, and gives long prison terms to all the defendants. Can they get an appeal? "Don't despair." They wear special uniforms. Another prisoner confeses to the bombings. Will it mean anything? Gerry shows his personality faults. There is a fight when a new prisoner arrives. Can the English police admit to an error? We see how power is used: "54 Halsey Road". The riot squad takes over. Then a lawyer arrives. There is a violent attack on one prison guard during a movie.
The film slows down, father and son talk about the past. Lawyer Pierce seeks compassionate leave for Giuseppe Conlon. [Are prisoners allowed matches?] People demonstrate to "Free the Guildford Four". It has an effect. The stress affects Gerry. Lawyer Pierce finds suppressed evidence! A new court hearing after 15 years brings out the truth. There was an alibi for Gerry Conlon but it was suppressed. The cases against Gerry Conlon and the others are all dismissed. The convictions of the Maguire family were overturned because of a lack of reliability and credibility in the prosecution's forensic evidence. Whenever the politicians put great pressure on the police to solve an outrageous crime they have to come up with a suspect. They only follow orders.
One value of this film is the scenes of life in Belfast and England that a tourist will not see, an unintended consequence. English law does not have a Bill of Rights to reduce oppression. [You will never see a movie about the framing of Tom Mooney back in 1916.]
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Yes, a good movie
Added 8/20/2009
1. Other's have written at length regarding the various merits of this movie--> I'm just seconding what many others have already noted--> this is a very good movie, with little faults. It should be well worth most folks time / energy.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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One of the best movies ever!!!!
Added 8/3/2009
Simply stated this is one of the best movies ever.
A phenomenal story about family and character.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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mounting disgust
Added 4/16/2009
When those who know what is most troubling try to summarize the disturbing aspects of what they face, "In The Name Of The Father" is the kind of movie that dramatizes the kind of reality people wish to escape. Any call for silence in the courtroom is most likely to be sincere when the comments of an attorney who discovered a file that was not to be shown to the defense underscore how rotton the core of courtly assertions has often been.
Like appreciating that Martin Luther was considered a criminal for being a heretic after openly opposing attermpts to shut him up, the idea that Saint Paul police twisted the arm of some radio news host in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in September, 2008, is as easy to understand as Jack Ruby catching Lee Harvey Oswald in the basement of the Dallas Police Station in November, 1963, just a few weeks after what happened to Diem and Nhu in Vietnam and days after what happened to President Kennedy, if you understand how the police are likely to treat anyone they can hold for seven days in a situation that allows the police to control the mounting disgust.
This movie makes it all happen for me. It shows the schismatic max.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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A stunning film about injustice
Added 11/4/2008
This is a brilliant film, which shows the appalling events behind a major miscarriage of justice. I found it very moving, and thought the acting and directing was excellent.
This is something I would recommend to anyone.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The Story of the Guildford Four
Added 12/3/2009
In the Name of the Father
The film opens on a corner store at night. There is an explosion! It began in Belfast Ireland. Young men are stealing metal from a roof when they are fired upon by British soldiers. The community tries to help but the armored cars push through. The crowd throws stones at the soldiers. The IRA threatens the young thieves with being shot in their leg as punishment for starting trouble near their safe house. Gerry is exiled to England for safety. "Honest money goes further." Gerry stays at a house of squatters; they are vegetarians. [Does Gerry seem headed for trouble?] These squatters act like children, as if they never grew up. There is noise from an explosion. They stay at a park at night. Gerry trespasses and steals a small fortune, then returns home.
Somebody told the police that Gerry had a lot of money. The police break in and arrest Gerry as a suspect. [No subtitles.] Intensive interrogation breaks Gerry down. His family is arrested! Psychological tricks are used to get a written confession. Was it torture? Gerry's Dad was arrested after he went to see a lawyer! Gerry's speech shows his personal problems. [Was his cell bugged?] One guard notes the words in the visitor's room. "Danny's dead." [An incurable thief is a potential informer.] Nitrite tests on hands? [Recently painted surfaces?] The accused are in court. Were they all guilty? Physical and mental cruelty? There was no corroboration. Is Gerry convincing as a witness? Paul said they put a gun in his mouth to get a confession. This is a very emotional case and people are angry.
The jury finds the defendants guilty as charged, along with Conlon's relatives. The judge regrets he can't order the death penalty, and gives long prison terms to all the defendants. Can they get an appeal? "Don't despair." They wear special uniforms. Another prisoner confeses to the bombings. Will it mean anything? Gerry shows his personality faults. There is a fight when a new prisoner arrives. Can the English police admit to an error? We see how power is used: "54 Halsey Road". The riot squad takes over. Then a lawyer arrives. There is a violent attack on one prison guard during a movie.
The film slows down, father and son talk about the past. Lawyer Pierce seeks compassionate leave for Giuseppe Conlon. [Are prisoners allowed matches?] People demonstrate to "Free the Guildford Four". It has an effect. The stress affects Gerry. Lawyer Pierce finds suppressed evidence! A new court hearing after 15 years brings out the truth. There was an alibi for Gerry Conlon but it was suppressed. The cases against Gerry Conlon and the others are all dismissed. The convictions of the Maguire family were overturned because of a lack of reliability and credibility in the prosecution's forensic evidence. Whenever the politicians put great pressure on the police to solve an outrageous crime they have to come up with a suspect. They only follow orders.
One value of this film is the scenes of life in Belfast and England that a tourist will not see, an unintended consequence. English law does not have a Bill of Rights to reduce oppression. [You will never see a movie about the framing of Tom Mooney back in 1916.]
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Yes, a good movie
Added 8/20/2009
1. Other's have written at length regarding the various merits of this movie--> I'm just seconding what many others have already noted--> this is a very good movie, with little faults. It should be well worth most folks time / energy.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
One of the best movies ever!!!!
Added 8/3/2009
Simply stated this is one of the best movies ever.
A phenomenal story about family and character.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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