Written and directed: Neil Jordan
Starring: Liam Neeson, Julia Roberts, Aidan Quinn, Alan
Rickman, Sean McGinley and Stephen Rea.
Nominated for two Oscars.
Plot:
After the disastrous defeat of Irish rebels by superior
British forces during the Easter Week rebellion of 1916,
Michael Collins develops new strategies for the
independence of Ireland. His tactics include what is now
recognized as urban guerrilla tactics and organized
assassinations of G-Men, those Irish who work as
informers for the British, and later members of British
intelligence. Although Collins is conflicted about the
necessity of this violent course, by 1921 the British
are willing to negotiate and Sinn Fein President Eamon
de Valera sends a reluctant Collins to London to
negotiate a settlement. When Collins returns with a
compromise of a divided Ireland and an Irish Free State,
not a Republic, he is vilified by de Valera and
repudiated by lifelong friend Harry Boland after Boland
learns that his girlfriend Kitty Kiernan is in love with
Collins, not him. Collins is now faced with civil war as
he struggles against those who insist on complete
freedom for all of Ireland.
Locations:
Locations that were used for Michael Collins include
Rathdrum Square, where Michael Collins addresses a large
crowd. This scene simulated an actual public meeting of
nationalists who listened to a public appeal by The Big
Man, in favour of a war-ending treaty with Great
Britain.
Some of the love scenes with Julia Roberts were shot
upstairs in The Woolpack pub in the square in Rathdrum.
Hollywood Glen was used for the location where the
ambush and assassination of Michael Collins takes place.
The Carlisle sports grounds on the Quinsboro Road in
Bray were used for the dramatic re-enactment of the
atrocious shootings in Croke Park in Dublin.
Other scenic locations include Glencree, Lough Dan,
Greenan, Glenmalure and Aghavanagh.
Info:
Despite containing several brutal scenes of violence,
the film was given a very lenient 'PG' rating in Ireland
mainly because of its historical context. The censor
issued a press statement defending his decision claiming
the film was a landmark in Irish cinema and that he
believed "because of the subject matter, parents should
have the option of making their own decision as to
whether their children should see the film or not". The
Film subsequently became the second most successful
movie ever released in Ireland.
Tom Cruise was offered the 'Jonathan Rhys-Meyers' cameo
of the Assassin.
This film was originally going to be a Kevin Costner
feature.
