The Devil's Own (1997)

A police officer uncovers the real identity of his houseguest, an IRA terrorist in hiding.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

Kevin Jarre (story), David Aaron Cohen (screenplay),

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin

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 MacDuff
David Wilmot	...	Dessie

Storyline

A thriller about an IRA gunman who draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. Frankie McGuire is one of the IRA's deadliest assassins. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, force Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.

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Plot Keywords:

terrorist | murder | police | ireland | terrorism | 

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Taglines:

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.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA Ireland

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Enemigo íntimo

Filming Locations:

Baruch College, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$18,063,265 (USA) (28 March 1997)

Gross:

$42,877,165 (USA) (4 July 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Average Shot Length = ~4.8 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~4.6 seconds.

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Goofs

Supposedly set in winter in New York, yet scenes simultaneously feature snow and fully leaved deciduous trees.

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Quotes

Tom O'Meara: I understand why he's doin' what he's doin'. If I had to endure what he's endured - -if I was eight years old and saw my father gunned down in front of my family - -I'd be carryin' a gun too, and I wouldn't be wearin' a badge.

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Connections

Referenced in Dennis Pennis R.I.P. (1997)

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Soundtracks

"God Be With You"
Produced by Bruce Fairbairn and Dolores O'Riordan
Written and Performed by Dolores O'Riordan
Courtesy of Island Records, Inc.

User Reviews

Good Performances, But It Seems A Bit Dated And Too Sympathetic To The IRA

Considering that the era of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland has largely come to an end, and the IRA is rarely heard from anymore (the fight over Northern Ireland's status having been successfully moved by the peace process into the political realm) this movie has a somewhat dated feel even though it's not even 15 years old yet, dealing as it does with a young IRA operative (Brad Pitt) who comes to America to buy weapons for use back home. On his arrival, a sympathetic Irish-American judge arranges to have him stay with a local Irish-American police officer (Harrison Ford), who isn't aware of of the IRA connections. Eventually, the arrangement comes to endanger the lives of the officer's entire family.

I'll grant that the two lead performances were pretty good. Pitt as Francis (or Rory, as he called himself in America) and Ford as O'Meara both seemed to capture their characters quite well. The first hour or so of the movie was rather slow-paced, but it picked up once O'Meara put everything together and figured out what Rory was all about. I was somewhat put off by what I thought was an implicit pro-IRA sentiment in this. At the movie's opening, Francis is sitting at the kitchen table at the age of 8 while his father says grace before a meal, only to have presumably unionist gunmen break into their home and shoot him in cold blood. It seemed to me that this was almost a way of justifying Francis/Rory's later actions, and it's even said at one point that "if I had seen my dad shot dead in front of me ..." Sorry, one can't justify those acts. "I'll do this because you did that," which means that a cycle just gets started that's hard to climb out of. Both IRA and unionist gunmen should have been ashamed to call themselves Catholic and Protestant, their actions having nothing to do with the teachings of Jesus, whom both Catholics and Protestants claim to follow.

Pro-IRA sentiment aside, I still thought this was a rather weak movie, saved somewhat by Pitt and Ford.