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<\/p>\nHindsight, 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\u2019t shake the feeling his memory might have taken the hard edges off a tumultuous time in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s understandable – after all, the film is essentially Branagh\u2019s autobiographical story of a few crucial months in 1969 when he was only 9 years old. The memories of a child aren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
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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\u2019s street. Buddy\u2019s Ma (Catriona Balfe) does her best to keep him safe. She\u2019s supported by his Granny (Judi Dench) and Pop (Ciar\u00e1n Hinds) who live nearby. But Buddy’s Pa (Jamie Dornan) is often absent. He\u2019s a tradesman who\u2019s 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019m not sure they\u2019re really earned – particularly in the final quarter-hour. It also seemed to run out of narrative puff towards the end. It\u2019s almost like all the vignettes had been played out so the whole thing had to be neatly – and quickly – wrapped up.<\/p>\n
But while the film might be manipulative, the performances are exceptional. Two really stood out for me – Catriona Balfe (Ford vs Ferrari<\/a>) as Ma and Ciar\u00e1n Hinds (First Man<\/a>) as Pop. Both are brilliant in technically tricky roles. Young Jude Hill is good as Buddy but as a cipher for the director, he\u2019s more an observer than driver of the plot. Judi Dench (Six Minutes to Midnight<\/a>) is rather under-utilised as Granny. Jamie Dornan (Robin Hood<\/a>) and Colin Morgan (The Huntsman: Winter\u2019s War<\/a>) bring a muscular energy to their roles as the confrontational men.<\/p>\n