IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER
A film review by Scott Renshaw
Copyright 1994 Scott Renshaw
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Peter Postlethwaite, Emma Thompson. Screenplay: Jim Sheridan & Terry George. Director: Jim Sheridan.
Any time you put together a ten best list right after the first of the year, you leave yourself open to potential embarrassment. There are usually three or four big Oscar contenders which go unseen outside Los Angeles and New York until late January, meaning that a ten best list compiled on January 1st might be notable for its oversights. IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER was one of those potential trouble spots, but as it turns out I still consider my list complete. Don't misunderstand me; FATHER is impeccably acted and efficiently directed. It simply never gripped me the way it should have.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER is the true story of Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a Belfast native and petty thief who finds himself on the wrong side of the Irish Republican Army in 1974. At the suggestion of his father Guiseppe (Peter Postlethwaite), Gerry leaves Ireland for London. There he and friend Paul Hill (John Lynch) discover their timing could not have been worse. In the middle of an I.R.A. bombing campaign, Gerry and Paul become scapegoats, arrested with two other friends and tortured into confessing to the bombing of a pub in Guildford. When Guiseppe comes to London to help, he too is implicated as a conspirator. The two Conlon's end up sharing a cell, and eventually sharing a hope that attorney Gareth Peirce (Emma Thompson) can win them an appeal.
There are really two stories working in IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER: one, the railroading of the "Guildford Four" by the British government; the other, the developing relationship between Gerry and Guiseppe while the two are imprisoned. Each of these stories would have made a taut and fascinating film, but combined both suffer. In particular, the father and son theme never quite clicked. Director and co-scripter Jim Sheridan makes some questionable choices in the early stages of their relationship, the most notable being a lack of insight into their interaction before their incarceration. A voiceover narration as Gerry leaves for London tries to explain emotions best demonstrated, a flaw later exacerbated in a tirade by Gerry towards Guiseppe that comes of as overwrought and lacking in necessary background. The later scenes, as the two men come to a grudging understanding, are much better, but they would have been stronger still with a more carefully crafted backstory.
The legal story of IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER is clearly secondary, but it provides most of the film's best moments. Gerry's interrogation is well-handled, including disconcerting scenes of police officials watching the torture in silence. Perhaps the most effective sequence is the sentencing of the Guildford Four and several members of Gerry's extended family, each excessive and unjust sentence punctuated by the slam of the judge's gavel. However, with the emphasis on Gerry and Guiseppe's relationship, the injustice of the situation really doesn't take hold, and the character of the chief detective on the case, played by Corin Redgrave, is too pat in his villainy. As an examination of the potential for bloodlust in English jurisprudence, Peter Medak's LET HIM HAVE IT is much more effective, a leaner and more focused story of a truly criminal proceeding.
The performances in IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER deliver its greatest strengths. Daniel Day-Lewis, building his already impressive and diverse resume, turns in impressive work as Gerry Conlon. His character is not as fully written as it could have been, but Day-Lewis fills in the cracks with his intensity and attention to detail. Peter Postlethwaite, as the physically frail but morally strong Guiseppe, is a powerful presence, providing a tough counterpoint to the mercurial Gerry. Emma Thompson, in an extremely small role, manages to be cool and determined but little more as Peirce; the script just doesn't ask much more of her.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER has garnered tremendous critical praise and a handful of Golden Globe nominations, and while I found it a good film I wonder if some of the accolades aren't a bit excessive. With the exception of Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER is solid but not spectacular, an example of taking two great films and turning them into one good one.
On the Renshaw scale of 0 to 10 bombings: 7.
-- Scott Renshaw Stanford University Office of the General Counsel
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