Veronica Guerin (2003)

An Irish journalist writes a series of stories about drug dealers.

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers:

Carol Doyle (story), Carol Doyle (screenplay)

Stars:

Cate Blanchett, Colin Farrell, Brenda Fricker

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 3 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cate Blanchett	...	Veronica Guerin
Gerard McSorley	...	John Gilligan
Ciarán Hinds	...	John Traynor
Brenda Fricker	...	Bernie Guerin
Don Wycherley	...	Chris Mulligan
Barry Barnes	...	Graham Turley
Simon O'Driscoll	...	Cathal Turley
Emmet Bergin	...	Aengus Fanning
Charlotte Bradley	...	Anne Harris
Mark Lambert	...	Willie Kealy
Garrett Keogh	...	Tony Gregory
Maria McDermottroe	...	Geraldine Gilligan
Paudge Behan	...	Brian Meehan
Joe Hanley	...	Eugene 'Dutchie' Holland
David Murray	...	Charles Bowden

Storyline

Based on a true story, this is about the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett), a reporter for The Sunday Independent, who exposed some of Dublin's most powerful crime barons and drug lords in 1996. But later that year she was gunned down by assasins hired by the same criminal drug lords she exposed.

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Plot Keywords:

strong female lead | strong female character | tough woman | murder of a journalist | shooting a woman | 

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Taglines:

Why would anyone want to kill Veronica Guerin?

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and some drug content

Details

Country:

Ireland UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chasing the Dragon: The Veronica Guerin Story

Filming Locations:

Newtownmountkennedy, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$17,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£271,996 (United Kingdom), 13 July 2003, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$611,276, 19 October 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,571,504, 6 June 2013

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,439,660, 6 June 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures,Jerry Bruckheimer Films,Persevere Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Irish Film Censor, who passed the film with a 15PG (now defunct, but equal to 15A) certificate, acknowledged on the official Film Censor website, that had this film been fiction, or of any other plot source than it was, it would probably have received an 18 certificate.

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Goofs

Veronica Guerin attends a protest march organized by he Concerned Parents Against Drugs to pressure a drug dealer to leave the area, and behaves as if this is a new tactic. In fact, the CPAD marches had begun in 1983 (12-13 years before the film's events) and were not a new phenomenon at the time.

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Quotes

Veronica Guerin: It'll be worse for me, and it'll be worse for journalism or any journalist if I was to be intimidated. Then that means they've won, and they're not going to win.

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Crazy Credits

Disclaimer in closing credits: "Chris Mulligan is a fictional composite character based in part on several different people, and certain events in which the character is depicted have been fictionalised for dramatic effect."

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Connections

Featured in Siskel & Ebert: Ebert & Roeper Redux (2003)

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Soundtracks

Aftermath
Written by Adrian Thaws
Published by Universal-Island Music Ltd.
Performed by Tricky
Courtesy of Universal-Island Records Limited

User Reviews

You'd do the same. If you saw those kids on the street, you would do the same.

The assassination of Dublin crime reporter Veronica Guerin in 1996 shook Ireland to the core, her murder saw a public swell of determination to rid the country of its drug peddlers. Joel Schumacher's film is an in depth interpretation of the woman, her beliefs, her family life, her complexities and her stoicism to root out the drug barons putting liquid death into the arms of the many.

Thankfully avoiding Hollywood clichés, it's often gritty and well thought out, Schumacher and his writers, Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue, don't soft soap the Guerin image, her faults are laid bare alongside her searing strengths. The dangers of her work are very prominent throughout, leading to some suspenseful and fearsome scenes. Cate Blanchett as Guerin is inspired casting, an actress capable of covering all facets of the human condition, and in support Ciaran Hinds, Gerard McSorley and Brenda Fricker give powerful performances. 8/10