October 5 - In The Name Of The Father

Today’s movie is a drama with scenes that happen on October 5.  Watch it tonight and enjoy.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER                

On October 5, 1974 [00:38 to 1:13] we see the Guilford pub bombing. Then in an extended flashback Gerry Conlon tells what happened.  He was part of a gang of burglars in Belfast. When he is mistaken by the British Army for a sniper, this leads to a neighborhood sweep. The IRA have to cause a riot so they can move an arms cache that was located nearby. This angers the IRA’s leadership, so Gerry and Paul Hill move to London, where they live in a squatter’s commune. At the exact time of the bombing on October 5, 1974 [19:15 to 25:58], he and Paul are miles away in a park where they meet a homeless man Charlie Burke. One of the commune members talks to the police, who arrest Gerry and Paul.  Paul confesses and implicates Gerry after he’s threatened and Gerry confesses after the police threaten his father, who’s also arrested as a IRA supporter. They are both tried and convicted. In jail Garry and his father share a cell and are the target of violence by other prisoners. The  real bomber is arrested and tells the police he did it, and not Gerry and Paul, but nothing happens. After the prisoners riot and take over the cellblock, Gerry meets lawyer, Gareth Peirce, who agrees to represent him. When a guard is set on fire, Gerry is the only one who tries to help him. His dad dies in prison, but this allows Gareth to review his file. Gerry is moved to a Scottish jail, but by a stroke of luck Gareth is able to review Gerry’s file and inside discovers new evidence. The police had found Charlie Burke a month after Gerry’s arrest and he confirmed their alibi, but the police decided to prosecute Gerry anyway. The cases against the defendants, including Gerry are dismissed.

An interesting story. A wake-up call for those people who believe the police are always straight arrows. Fortunately in Gerry’s case justice finally prevailed, but only after he spent 15 years in jail.

The Troubles: Ireland’s Ordeal 1966 -1996 and the Search for Peace by Tim Pat Coogan (Roberts Rinehart Publishers, Boulder, CO, 1996) at page 191 and the film at 1:12 give the date of the blast

Awards – The movie was nominated for the Best Picture, Best Actor (Day-Lewis), Best Supporting Actress(Thompson), Best Supporting  Actor (Postlethwaite), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay at the 66^th Academy Awards.

Producers - Jim Sheridan, Gabriel Byrne, Terry George and Arthur Lappin

Screenplay - Jim Sheridan and Terry George

                                                                     

Director - Jim Sheridan   

Runtime – 2 hours 13 minutes                                                                                               

Released - December 12, 1993                                     

Starring - 

Daniel Day-Lewis as Gerry Conlon                                                                     

Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe Conlon

Emma Thompson as Gareth Peirce

John Lynch as Paul Hill

Mark Sheppard as Paddy Armstrong

Beatie Edney as Carole Richardson

Anthony Brophy as Danny

Don Baker as Joe McAndrew

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.