"If they can't hear you, then they're not listening."
Kenneth Branaugh's Belfast is an autobiographical account from his childhood. It depicts a story about a young boy and his working class family experiencing the tumultuous late 1960s in the hometown of Belfast. I'm going to say it, I've never been taken away by Branaugh's direction in the past. He's a great actor and all, but when it comes to filmmaking, everything I've seen from him has either just been okay or disappointed. Maybe it's because he's never made something as personal as this. Though I don't think it's as wonderful as everyone makes it out to be, I did find myself enjoying Belfast. It manages to create a story centered around family and what it feels like to be a child growing up in a place that's dear to you. With the story being almost auto-biographical, you see the world as Branaugh did. It's a fun and lovely story, even if it touches on heavier subjects like loss and riots. I found the screenplay to be written well. Honestly, this movie could very well be considered a comedy. It's full of humor and light. Still, it can play out a bit melodramatic, especially the end. The ending for me was a little abrupt. I was told there was going to be a scene full of emotion to make everyone cry, but that moment passed and it was the end. I'm glad it ended on that note instead of Branaugh's original ending which had a documentary sort of thing going on and him returning to Belfast. Luckily we have editors to cut things out.
What made the movie, at least for me, were the performances. With the likes of Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, and Ciarán Hinds you're in for some great acting. Dench and Hinds have smaller performances than the others but play the perfect grandparents you'd want. Dornan, and though we've known he's a better actor than his work in the 50 Shades series, is great and has a lot of fun with his more serious role that does get to have some fun. The absolute best comes from Balfe. She's the best part of the whole movie. For me, she was that part that made the movie most emotionally gripping. And then there's Jude Hill who is the only lead. He may be whiny and that irritating kid sometimes, but he sees the world as a new adventure everyday which is always pleasant to watch. As his first major role and at such a young age, I believe he did a good job. Branaugh set out to make a movie that would possibly win him awards and be the crowd pleaser of the year. Personally, I don't think his direction was all that amazing. He does a good job, but it felt like we've seen variations of the movie already and it was easy to know everything to come. As stylistic as he may try to make it out to be, the only stylish thing is the black-and-white cinematography and all the movies and stage performances are shown in color. I don't think everything he did works (the first couple minutes of the movie did not start out so great), but he did make a solid movie in the end. Belfast is a heartfelt watch and has great performances and good writing, but I ended wanting more out of it. I do think this will go well with audiences and critics, some calling it the best of the year. It comes out in a couple weeks and is bound to win some Oscars, so check it out if you'd like.
