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The Devil's Own
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The Devil's Own (1997) More at IMDb Pro »

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Overview

User Rating:
5.8/10   16,818 votes
Director:
Alan J. Pakula
Writers (WGA):
Kevin Jarre (story)
David Aaron Cohen (screenplay) ...
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Release Date:
26 March 1997 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Drama | Thriller more
Tagline:
One man trapped by destiny, and another bound by duty. They're about to discover what they're willing to fight, and to die for. more
Plot:
A police officer uncovers the real identity of his houseguest, an IRA terrorist in hiding. full summary | add synopsis
User Comments:
Better if you do not expect an action (and especially not a thriller) film more

Cast

 (Cast overview, first billed only)

Harrison Ford ... Tom O'Meara

Brad Pitt ... Rory Devaney / Francis Austin McGuire
Margaret Colin ... Sheila O'Meara

Rubén Blades ... Edwin Diaz

Treat Williams ... Billy Burke
George Hearn ... Peter Fitzsimmons

Mitch Ryan ... Chief Jim Kelly (as Mitchell Ryan)

Natascha McElhone ... Megan Doherty
Paul Ronan ... Sean Phelan

Simon Jones ... Harry Sloan

Julia Stiles ... Bridget O'Meara

Ashley Carin ... Morgan O'Meara
Kelly Singer ... Annie O'Meara

David O'Hara ... Martin MacDuf
David Wilmot ... Dessie
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for strong brutal violence, and for language.
Runtime:
107 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby Digital | SDDS
MOVIEmeter: ?
^ 18% since last week why?

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Brad Pitt wanted to leave the production, but was threatened by a lawsuit. In the February 2, 1997, issue of Newsweek, Pitt called the film a "disaster", and said that "it was the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking - if you can even call it that - that I've ever seen. I couldn't believe it". Rumors of fighting on the set (especially over which star would be the focus of the film) plagued the production. The original script was discarded and there were at least seven subsequent rewrites. Pitt said the final version was "a mess". "The script that I had loved was gone," he said. "I guess people just had different visions and you can't argue with that. But then I wanted out and the studio head said, 'All right, we'll let you out, but it'll be $63 million for starters."' more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Frankie is handcuffed in the back seat of the car, O'Meara looks in the rear view mirror and sees Frankie, but if the rear view mirror is properly set up for the driver, the person in the passenger seat cannot see anyone in the back seat, and especially not someone directly behind them. more
Quotes:
Tom O'Meara: What's the money for? I was thinkin' guns. I was thinkin' IRA.
Rory: I need that money Tom!
Tom O'Meara: Why? So other eight-year-olds can watch their fathers gunned down in front of 'em? If this money leaves here, more people will die. Can you tell me that won't happen?
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Game K N B: (2007-03-15)" (2007) more
Soundtrack:
Veni Creator Spiritus more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
25 out of 43 people found the following comment useful:-
Better if you do not expect an action (and especially not a thriller) film, 16 January 2005
8/10
Author: Brandt Sponseller from New York City

As a child in Ireland, Frankie McGuire (Brad Pitt) sees his dad gunned down for his involvement with the Irish Republican Army (IRA). As an adult, McGuire has followed in his dad's footsteps. When the IRA decides it needs more firepower, they hatch a plan that involves McGuire going to the United States to pick up a shipment of Stinger missiles. Through American IRA contacts, McGuire adopts a false identity and housing is arranged with a non-involved Irish family headed by New York City cop Tom O'Meara (Harrison Ford).

There is an impression that The Devil's Own is an action film. The Internet Movie Database has it listed as "Action/Drama/Thriller". Although there are some action elements in the film, this is really a tragic drama, almost in a classical sense, and it's best to approach the film with only that genre in mind. The plot is fairly complex and the film tends to move slowly--much more slowly than a typical actioner or thriller.

The heart of the story is McGuire's relationship with O'Meara and his family. All of the other material--the IRA stuff, the mob and terrorist stuff, the New York City cop stuff, and so on, are not the focus. Those elements are present to help establish characterization, to build the relationship and understanding between McGuire and O'Meara, and to provide a justification for the developments in the film, and particularly the conclusion, which all have poignant things to say about the decisions that we make and why we make them.

The film largely succeeds if seen from this dramatic perspective. It's not quite a 10, however, as it always seems slightly distanced from the viewer. It's an 8 out of 10 for me.

(This comment was originally posted on January 16, 2005 and ended with the above. The following was added much later after reading through some other user comments:) We should not forget that even though it takes elements from the real world to construct its story, The Devil's Own is NOT intended to be journalistic or a documentary. There is no claim that it is giving an accurate portrayal of political situations, and it's not intended to campaign for one side or another in a real-world political situation. This is fiction, folks, and should be judged _as fiction_. For that, you should forget about what you know of the real world, and assess the story, images and sounds you experience from your television. Does the story work as a self-contained entity? Are the performances good? Is it visually attractive/rewarding? Those are the kinds of things we should be judging.

For me, The Devil's Own succeeded as a drama about relationships, with its poignancy arrived at primarily by making two people from very different worlds, with very different outlooks, learn to see things from different perspectives.

That's great if you're very knowledgeable about Northern Ireland in the real world and if you have strong opinions about terrorism. However, your knowledge and opinions on that stuff have nothing to do with this film.

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IRA movies will_shermer
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Brad Pitt's voice booksmooviesnwhisky
'If I'd seen my dad shot I'd be a terrorist too' line... jk80
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