What is it about?
This Liam Neeson IRA film, set during the Troubles, follows Finbar (Liam Neeson), a quiet man in a small rural Irish town who unwittingly finds himself at odds with an IRA cell. If you’re after a gripping Troubles movie, this one’s well worth your time.
For those unfamiliar, “the Troubles” was a period of conflict in Northern Ireland between Irish Catholics who favoured a united Ireland and Protestant Unionists, largely of Scottish descent, who wanted to remain part of Britain. Many Irish Catholics perceived that Unionists held the best jobs and opportunities — it was widely seen as a “have and have not” divide. It’s a hugely complex chapter of history, and a bloody one — paramilitary groups on both sides carried out regular attacks, and the IRA also targeted the British mainland, not just Northern Ireland, as the English were viewed as the enemy.
(If I’ve oversimplified or misrepresented any of this, I apologise to Irish and Northern Irish readers — that’s not my intention.)
Back to the film: a four-man IRA cell goes into hiding in Finbar’s village. One of them does something unforgivable, and Finbar takes the law into his own hands, killing the man responsible. The cell’s leader — a steely, relentless woman — takes this personally and sets out to hunt down whoever killed her man, setting off a deadly chain of events for everyone involved.
What was this Liam Neesom IRA film like?
Gripping, but a slow burn. The film takes its time building up Finbar, the IRA cell, and the tension in the village itself, so that by the time the violence arrives, it lands — you genuinely feel it happened to real people (even though, of course, it’s fiction).
It’s well-acted and well-directed, and it’s not all tension and suspense — there’s real warmth in seeing Finbar’s peaceful life before the cell’s arrival tears it apart. Everyone feels lived-in and real.
I went in because of Liam Neeson, but within minutes I forgot I was watching him — he simply became Finbar. That’s a real testament to his acting. Here’s one of Hollywood’s most powerful screen presences, and he lost none of that power — yet somehow, he was Finbar. If that makes sense. It’s easily one of the best Liam Neeson movies in recent years, and if you’re weighing up what to watch across Netflix, Prime, or Apple TV tonight, this deserves a spot on your list.
Overall: watch it.
The people in this film are real people and it teaches you that this conflict could affect everybody.
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