Hindsight, they say, is 20-20. But the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia can distort the lens. In Belfast, director Kenneth Branagh delivers a love letter to his childhood hometown. But I couldn’t shake the feeling his memory might have taken the hard edges off a tumultuous time in Northern Ireland.
That’s understandable – after all, the film is essentially Branagh’s autobiographical story of a few crucial months in 1969 when he was only 9 years old. The memories of a child aren’t always accurate, and can be influenced by perception rather than reality. So as the film swims in the sepia-toned days of yore, it tends to gloss over quite a lot.
Belfast follows Buddy (Jude Hill) a young boy growing up in segregated Northern Ireland. Discontent is rising and sectarian factions are emerging. It all explodes early on in the film when mob violence breaks out on Buddy’s street. Buddy’s Ma (Catriona Balfe) does her best to keep him safe. She’s supported by his Granny (Judi Dench) and Pop (Ciarán Hinds) who live nearby. But Buddy’s Pa (Jamie Dornan) is often absent. He’s a tradesman who’s working on projects in England, only flying home on the odd weekend. The violence catalyses local bully Billy Clanton (Colin Morgan) into action. He organises a kind of Protestant militia, determined to drive Catholics out of the neighbourhood. However, Pa – who’s also a Protestant – is having none of it. He refuses to join Clanton’s gang, which in those insane times, makes him a marked man.
Branagh is a storied veteran of stage and screen, so he knows how to cause a reaction. In this case, he wants to tug at the heart strings. And Belfast does that very effectively. I was into it while watching the film, but I felt a bit manipulated afterwards. The emotional resonances are powerful, but I’m not sure they’re really earned – particularly in the final quarter-hour. It also seemed to run out of narrative puff towards the end. It’s almost like all the vignettes had been played out so the whole thing had to be neatly – and quickly – wrapped up.
But while the film might be manipulative, the performances are exceptional. Two really stood out for me – Catriona Balfe (Ford vs Ferrari) as Ma and Ciarán Hinds (First Man) as Pop. Both are brilliant in technically tricky roles. Young Jude Hill is good as Buddy but as a cipher for the director, he’s more an observer than driver of the plot. Judi Dench (Six Minutes to Midnight) is rather under-utilised as Granny. Jamie Dornan (Robin Hood) and Colin Morgan (The Huntsman: Winter’s War) bring a muscular energy to their roles as the confrontational men.
You might notice that the majority of the cast are Northern Irish – indeed, many are from Belfast. This lends an air of authenticity to the film – notably the accents. Haris Zambarloukos captures the action in gorgeous black-and-white. The music is by another NI native, Van Morrison. I know he has many fans, but I found the film overused his music. No event could happen without yet another Van Morrison song to accompany it.
For me, Belfast is one of those “good not great” films. While I admired its technical prowess and the fine performances, I always felt at a remove from it. But if you’re pining for some late-60s nostalgia and plenty of Van Morrison, then this is the film for you.
David Edwards
Other reviews you might enjoy:
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- Endings, Beginnings (Foxtel on Demand) – movie review
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television