In the Name of the Father (1993)

The incredible story of Gerry Conlon, wrongly imprisoned by the British Police for the IRA bombing of a Greenwich pub, along with three friends and several members of his family, is so incredible its hard to believe it's true - especially in a country like Britain when you don't expect corruption in the police forces to rear its ugly head. The truth is, however, not only were they all convicted but Conlon and his friends spent 15 years in prison, where his father, Giuseppe, died an innocent man.

Jim Sheridan directs Daniel Day-Lewis in a stunning portrayal of a desperate man and his complex relationship with his father (Pete Postlethwaite) that transcends the biopic genre and creates great emotion and an overpowering sense of injustice. By placing the two in the confining space of a prison cell, the stage is set for some heartrending scenes of conflict, pride and love. Plenty of time is spent setting the scene, revealing the backstory and the tortuous process they were submitted to by the police with only confessions on their minds, but the film really gets going once their sentences begin.

In truth, there's not a great deal of plot during these scenes, but the film escapes this through anecdotes, whereby Gerry is able to open up to Giuseppe about his insecurities and aspirations. These scenes, with fairly direct reference to the film's themes, could easily have felt contrived, but in the extremely capable hands of Day-Lewis its impossible to go wrong - and watching this only a few weeks after 'There Will Be Blood' I'm stunned by his range - and Postlethwaite too is excellent in conveying a man desperately trying to understand his son but incapable of comprehending a new generation and new concerns. Sheridan has talked about how this relationship between a fighting son and his oppressive father was designed to reflect the struggle between Ireland and Britain but even without this added context the film is extremely rich and rewarding, with undeniably universal themes.

There's not much point going into specific plot details, as part of the experience of the film is facing the incredulity of each twist and turn that's thrown at them. At least we know they'll be going to prison, but it's hard to understand how the crime can possibly be pinned on them. Their only crime, it seems, is to be Irish at a time when IRA activity was at its peak. The fact that just by visiting his aunt in London Conlon incriminated her entire family, shows how absurd the justice system can be at times at to be honest, made me rather ashamed.

I'm not always a fan of biopics, feeling that cinematic invention is sacrificed for the sake of capturing truth that doesn't necessarily require a cinematic incarnation, but in the case of 'In the Name of the Father', this story needs to reach the widest audience possible and this is the best way to do so. Even beyond the story, however, the drama between the characters that makes this such a personal story is what really gives this film its power and I recommend it to everyone.