Kenneth Branagh’s ‘Belfast,’ a Tale of Innocence Stolen
Opinion Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author/producer’s interpretation of facts and data.
By Brian McGowan
Celebrating the slow but steady progress on the road to post-COVID normalcy, my wife and I happily sat through Kenneth Branagh’s semiautobiographical film “Belfast” on a recent Friday night at the Jacob Burns Film Center.
Astounding is the only adjective to describe the power and impact of this coming-of-age memoir. Based on Branagh’s early years growing up in Belfast, a city that became a war-torn urban battleground, the film surprises at every turn.
It is August 1969. “The Troubles,” almost 30 years of sectarian conflict, have descended upon the streets of Belfast. The film begins its journey into Branagh’s past, conveyed in the charming character of eight-year-old Buddy, played by newcomer to film Jude Hill. The soundtrack, featuring fellow Belfast native Van Morrison, will not disappoint either.
The cast is a marvelous ensemble. Ciarán Hinds plays Pop, a retired coal miner. He is the quintessential grandfather figure, loved and respected by all, especially his grandson, Buddy.
Judi Dench displays again the talents of a versatile master, able to play any role. She is “Granny,” Pop’s wife of many years, a sage voice of reason and stability to the rest of the family.
Jamie Dornan plays their son, referred to only as “Pa,” a reasonable man in unreasonable times, who, to make ends meet, must travel back and forth to London where he works in construction. He comes home on the odd weekend, leaving his wife to raise their two sons. Played brilliantly by Caitríona Balfe, this defiant mother and sometimes troublesome wife dominates the pack. It is a performance that should make her a serious contender for an Oscar. Alternately furious, alluring, loyal, emotional, proactive, reactive, headstrong and fiercely brave, she grapples emotionally with the slow and steady destruction of the world she thought she and her family could live peacefully in forever.
The characters in “Belfast” are eminently believable, but especially Buddy. His response to the chaos surrounding him ranges from disbelief and avoidance, to unwitting participation in a riot and the vicious looting of a grocery store. He is innocence personified, and innocence cruelly violated.
Nor is the family’s working-class street what we would expect to see in the city of Belfast, given the polarization that occurred during The Troubles, when neighbor was turned against neighbor and friend against friend. Little of this is explained in the film, a credit to Branagh, for any attempt to explain the centuries-long trail that led to the explosion of Belfast’s streets in 1969 would have been futile.
Nor is the family what we would expect from the standard fare of films and documentaries seeking to explain Northern Ireland. They are not downtrodden Catholics, but Protestants, though as economically stretched as any of their Catholic neighbors. They are tolerant, fair-minded and relatively bias-free. And their love for their gritty city is palpable, especially Ma and Buddy, as they react to Pa’s continued urging that they flee the danger they are in the midst of and move elsewhere.
A major strength of the film is its refusal to make a political statement on The Troubles. There is no us-versus-them posturing. The subject is families, on both sides of a chasm foisted upon them by forces beyond their control. “Belfast” masterfully depicts how they are stretched and strained, both from within and without, as they struggle to adjust to a startling new reality that has descended upon their working-class street, where Catholic and Protestant once lived in amicable accord.
The stereotypical bitter, single-minded Unionist image is shattered. Pa, a Protestant who numbers many Catholics among friends and acquaintances, is continually accosted by Billy Clanton, menacingly played by Colin Morgan. He is the ringleader of the Protestant gang seeking to oust all Catholics from the neighborhood.
“Be a good Protestant,” Clanton admonishes Pa, “and join us.”
“You’re not a good Protestant,” Pa replies. “You’re just a gangster.”
Rated PG-13, and running 97 minutes, “Belfast” is currently playing at the Jacob Burns (through this Thursday) and other theaters.
Pleasantville resident Brian McGowan was born and raised in the Bronx and is a second-, third- and fifth-generation Irish-American/Canadian, as his immigrant ancestors followed several paths to the New World. Reach him at brian.m.mcgowan1952@gmail.com or on Twitter (@Bmcgowan52M). He is the author of two books, “Thunder at Noon,” about the battle of Waterloo, and “Love, Son John,” about World War II. Both are available at Amazon.com.
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