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
Margaret Colin	...	Sheila O'Meara
Rubén Blades	...	Edwin Diaz (as Ruben Blades)
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 Acarino	...	Morgan O'Meara (as Ashley Carin)
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:

ira irish republican army | assassin | suspense | boat | prologue | 

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

There were reshoots in February 1997, only a month before the film's release.

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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

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

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Connections

Featured in The Movie Show: Episode dated 6 April 1997 (1997)

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Soundtracks

Rock The Boat
Written by Wally Holmes (as Waldo Holmes)
Performed by The Hues Corporation
Courtesy of The RCA Records Label of BMG Entertainment

User Reviews

Sinfully bad

I saw this ridiculous nonsense on NBC five years ago, chopped up for telecast, and so bad that two hours of advertisements for furniture at Penney's and previews of Friends (or reading the bloviating message boards for this movie) would have been better. The story is so much pro-terrorist Hollyweird mush with Brad Pitt as a killer-looking IRA gunman hiding out in America while speaking some sort of language loosely based on English and Harrison Ford, grumpy and spikey-haired, wearing a policeman's uniform, slowly--very slowly, mind you--figuring out that there's a bad man living in his basement.

Even with the bloodletting trimmed for telecast and the inherent fragmentation of television working for you, not against you, you get the feeling that everyone involved, including the late, great Alan J. Pakula, would rather forget this bloody, incomprehensible, incoherent junk. Once again, the Left Coast has turned a complex, grey-shaded, and achingly tragic issue into a cutesy-wretched, terrorists-are-just-misunderstood, amoral mess.

Skip it however it comes.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 March 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Devil's Own

Filming Locations:

Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$90,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,274,503, 30 March 1997

Gross USA:

$42,868,348

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$140,807,547

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1