The Devil's Own (1997)

A police officer uncovers the real identity of his house-guest, an I.R.A. terrorist in hiding.

Director:

Alan J. Pakula

Writers:

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

Stars:

Harrison Ford, Brad Pitt, Margaret Colin

1 nomination.

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
Mitchell Ryan	...	Chief Jim Kelly
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 officer | northern ireland | friendship | 

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Taglines:

They come from different worlds. They fight for different causes. Now, two men from opposite sides of the law are about to go to war.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong brutal violence, and for language

Details

Country:

USA

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:

$86,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,063,265, 30 March 1997, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$42,868,348

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$81,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Amongst other script problems, a renewed outbreak of violence in Northern Ireland in 1990 forced large revisions. Ironically, the film's release date in 1997 came as peace negotiations had moved forward to such an extent, that the Belfast Agreement (Good Friday Accords) were signed in April 1998.

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Goofs

In the 1st shootout in Ireland, when Franky is looking out the window BEFORE the shooting starts there are already bullet marks in the wall around the window. Sure enough that's where the bullet's hit when the shootout commences

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Quotes

[first lines]
Frankie's Mother: How was your day?
Frankie's Father: It was a bit cold.

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Connections

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

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Soundtracks

Unchained Melody
Written by Hy Zaret & Alex North
Performed by The Righteous Brothers
Courtesy of Mercury Records, Inc.
By Arrangement with PolyGram Film & TV Licensing

User Reviews

One Sorry Mess

There seems to be a certain template for making "Oirish" movies in Hollywood. Add some or all of the following ingredients to your movie script - Aran Sweaters, a sub-Deliverance rural setting, comely maidens with red hair, a village idiot (teeth optional), impromptu céilís and dancing at the crossroads, priests, drunken violence and the obligatory "Ooh arr, begorrah" accents and you have an Irish film. And if you want some controversy, why not try to tackle the situation in Northern Ireland by adding in some IRA men for good measure. Unfortunately, the Devil's Own has quite a few of the aforementioned clichés in abundance.

It is a great shame that with a cast and director of this calibre, they couldn't have come up with something better. There have been very few, if any, decent films ever made about Northern Ireland and perhaps it's time Hollywood stopped trying to put forward its own take on it, especially when it is as cack-handed as The Devil's Own. Not only is the whole movie grossly offensive to Irish people, and anyone else with a brain, but it is a dangerous message to be sending out to gullible Irish Americans. It's time film-makers stopped buying into the idea that the IRA are noble warriors when in fact they and others of their ilk are terrorists, pure and simple.

Avoid this like the plague. Brad Pitt's accent is the least of the problems in this film. He just isn't convincing as the cold-blooded killer he is supposed to be - he's far too nice. Harrison Ford is his usual reliable self but too much of the movie is taken up with a largely irrelevant sub-plot featuring himself and Ruben Blades as his police partner. At times, The Devil's Own seems like an IRA film mixed up with NYPD Blue.