Film Forum

U.K., 1990
Directed by Ken Loach
Written by Jim Allen
With Frances McDormand, Brian Cox, Brad Dourif, Ian McElhinney, Mai Zetterling
Approx. 108 mins. 35mm.

"There are two laws running this country: one for the security forces and the other for the rest of us.” As international groups gather to investigate human rights abuses in Northern Ireland, American Brad Dourif is slipped a cassette tape. When he and his driver are killed by British security forces, fiance Frances McDormand and investigator Brian Cox begin to unravel a right-wing plot. Conspiracy thriller inspired by John Stalker’s exposé of the British Army’s shoot-to-kill policy. Winner of the Jury Prize at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

Reviews

“Has the feel of a Costa-Gavras political thriller…deserves to be seen simply because it takes the debate on Ireland further than most such docudramas, asking questions about the nature of the British presence and its effect on the mainland's justice system...there's plenty of evidence of Loach's undiminished power as a film-maker, and equally ample evidence that something is very rotten in the state of Northern Ireland.”
– Time Out

“QUIETLY EXPLOSIVE.”
– Caryn James, The New York Times