The "You" star shares how social media became its own character in the psychological thriller.
Related lists from IMDb users
Title: In the Name of the Father (1993)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
Alison Crosbie | ... | Girl in Pub |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | ... | Gerry Conlon | |
|
|
Philip King | ... | Guildford Soldier |
| Emma Thompson | ... | Gareth Peirce | |
|
|
Nye Heron | ... | IRA Man 1 |
| Anthony Brophy | ... | Danny | |
| Frankie McCafferty | ... | Tommo | |
|
|
Paul Warriner | ... | Soldier |
|
|
Julian Walsh | ... | Soldier |
|
|
Stuart Wolfenden | ... | Soldier (as Stuart Wolvenden) |
|
|
Jo Connor | ... | Bin Lady |
|
|
Karen Carlisle | ... | Female Rioter |
|
|
Seamus Moran | ... | IRA Man 2 |
|
|
Billy Byrne | ... | IRA Man 3 |
|
|
Maureen McBride | ... | Mother |
Young Belfastian Gerry Conlon admits that he was in London at the time of the incident. He also admits that he is not a model citizen, having committed a petty robbery while in London. He does however profess his innocence when it comes to the bombing of the Guildford Pub in London in 1974, the event which killed several people inside. A self-professed non-political person, he and his three co-accused, dubbed the Guildford Four, are thought to be provisional members of the IRA. Their self-professed innocence is despite each having signed a statement of guilt which they claim were signed under duress. Their case includes having provable alibis for the time frame of the bombing. And eventually, Joe McAndrew, a known IRA member, admits to the bombing. Dubbed the Maguire Seven, seven others, primarily members of Gerry's extended family including his father Giuseppe, are accused of being accessories to the bombing. Following on the work initiated by Giuseppe, Gerry works on a campaign to ... Written by Huggo
Watch Hollywood hits and TV favorites for free with IMDb Freedive. Start streaming on IMDb and Fire TV devices today!
Explore popular movies available to rent or buy on Prime Video.
Like MIDNIGHT EXPRESS , IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER is a an extremely well made film , but like MIDNIGHT EXPRESS much of it is total invention . Reviewers on this page have already pointed out the numerous errors such as Guiseppe and Gerry Conlon never being imprisoned in the same jail or the " Guilford four " and " Mcguire seven " trials taking place in completely seperate court cases but no one seems to have pointed out the erroneous backgrounds this film paints of Gerry Conlon and Paul Hill. In their book THE PROVISIONAL IRA authors Patrick Bishop and Eamon Mallie state the facts quite clearly that Paul Hill was a member of the Belfast brigade of the provisonal IRA ( And Hill later did confess to being a member ) while Conlon had been a member of Na Fianna Eireann which is the youth section of the provisionals though Conlon was quickly kicked out ( Literally ) due to his heavy drinking and drug taking . They didn`t meet on the ferry as shown in the film but Conlon bumped into Hill in Southampton where Hill was staying . What was Hill doing in Southampton ? He was on the run from the IRA who wanted to question him about guns going missing and about the possibility of Hill being an informer , something that is always punishable in IRA ranks with death and prior torture . When Conlon returned to Belfast in December 1974 he did drunkenly mention to IRA acquaintances in pubs that he`d met Hill in England and in order to punish Hill for his suspected crimes against the organisation and to take the heat off their own cells active in Britain at the time it was the IRA themselves who deliberately leaked the false information to the intelligence services about Conlon and Hill being involved in the Guilford bombings , not as the film shows a jealous boyfriend . Hill was also later found guilty of the murder of a former soldier though is never shown in the film and it`s this playing hard and loose with the facts that almost threatens to destroy the film . It could have been worse though , there might have been the suggestion that the bombing could have been a mass suicide
Well that`s the bad points out of the way . What`s IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER`s good points ? Well Jim Sheridan directs with a real kinetic force especially the early scene where Conlon is pursued by the Brits against a voodoo chile soundscape . Sheridan also gets the very best out of his cast . Emma Thompson is good as the crusading lawyer , Pete Postlethwaite is very good as Guiseppe Conlon , but the outstanding performance is by Daniel Day Lewis as Gerry Conlon . Has anyone noticed the bitter Irony of a film about injustice features one of the greatest injustices commited by the Oscar board voters where they gave that year`s best actor Oscar to a very average performance by Tom Hanks ? No wonder more and more people view the Oscars as a popularity contest . And despite my above criticisms about the facts - or lack of them - IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER can in no way be described as a pro IRA film in the way that THE DEVIL`S OWN or SOME MOTHER`S SON are