FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING (15)

EVENTS IN Northern Ireland continue to exposed the fragility of the peace process. Film and television productions seem intent on creating a body of work reflecting the complexities of what really happened during the Troubles of the past forty years.

Hot on the heels of Hunger and the recent television drama Five Minutes Of Heaven comes Fifty Dead Men Walking, a slick, swaggering thriller inspired by true events.

The tale begins in 1999 as Martin (Jim Sturgess) is hit by a hail of bullets. In a lengthy flashback we learn of his life a decade earlier. A cocky, unemployed youngster in Northern Ireland, Martin is indifferent to the sectarian politics that surround him. He is a rebel with no particular cause. He is identified as a prime target for recruitment by a British Special Branch Operative known as Fergus (Ben Kingsley).

Martin is only too happy to pocket money from the British. His initial commitment gradually deepens as he becomes a high level informer who has won the trust of the IRA. He would later assert that fifty dead men were alive because of his actions, hence the title of the film.

It tells Martin's story as a tense thriller in the tradition of Martin Scorsese greats like Goodfellas, which capture the life of a trusted insider who eventually betrays the people he has come to know and perhaps even respect. It doesn't have the bite of Scorsese at his best, but it remains compelling throughout, with Jim Sturgess from 21 and Across The Universe confirming that he has the talent to become a big star.

Nationwide release

Director: Kari Skogland
Cast: Jim Sturgess, Ben Kingsley, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press, Rose McGowan, Tom Collins, William Houston
Screenwriter: Kari Skogland based on the book by Nicholas Davies and Martin McGarland
Certificate: 15
Running time: 117mins
Country: UK/US
Year: 2008

© Allan Hunter, 2009

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