THE BOXER

INTRODUCTION: Following the success of "My Left Foot" and "In The Name Of The Father", Sheridan and Day-Lewis team up once again for another dose of Gaelic feel good, or at least as feel good as movies about The Troubles(tm) can get. 

SYNOPSIS: Released after serving 14 years for IRA activity, Danny Flynn (Day-Lewis) return home, to rebuild his life. Abandoning his former comrades, he links up with his former Boxing Coach Ike Weir (Stott) and lost love Maggie (Watson), and hopes to unite Ireland by bringing Catholics and Protestants together to beat the shit out of each other, over 12 rounds in a ring. Things are, however, complicated by Emily's father IRA section leader Joe Hamill (Cox), her young son Liam (Fitzgerald) and Danny's former comrade Harry (McSorely). 

REVIEW: Hollywood has turned The Troubles(tm) into a minor industry, with films like "The Jackal" idealising the brave freedom fighters of the IRA and films like "Patriot Games" invoking ULTRA-violent factions of the IRA on the rare occasion that they require a non-English villain. Sheridan, however, has always avoided this pitfall constantly portraying realistic characters with realistic aims and objectives on both sides of the conflict. 

The cinematography is excellent and the darkened locations and ever present Helicopter create the perfect mood in which to play out scenes, which will remain with you forever. From the starting sound bites from Clinton, Blair, Paisley and Adams to the closing credits the boxer carries you on a roller coaster of emotions. With a background focusing on the characters reaction to the emerging peace process, from Ike's embittered anti-war stance to Harry's abject refusal to accept any compromise we follow the emerging romance between Danny and Maggie, forbidden because Maggie is married to an IRA prisoner. 
The cast is excellent, Day-Lewis always the perfectionist spent two years training under Barry McGuigan to make the fight scenes look convincing. Watson follows up her critically acclaimed performance in "Breaking The Waves" with more of the same, Cox elicits anger and sympathy as the IRA man dedicated to the peace process, Stott tugs all the right strings as the washed-up world weary drunk, and McSorely is truly menacing as the violent terrorist dedicated to winning at all costs and Fitzgerald makes a stunning debut as the young boy torn by divided loyalties. 

There are no easy answers to the Irish problems, and however much I hope the current peace process takes, I have my doubts, the two sides have mutually exclusive aims and objectives and no matter how weary and sickened by it all the majority of the population may be, there will always be enough fanatics like Harry to keep the conflict going, for once a movie is willing to show this. 

Another excellent film from Sheridan and Day-Lewis but it's got to the point now where you expect nothing less. 

Mutt's Rating: **** 

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