Director Neil Jordan was at the height of his fame following his great success with "The Crying Game" when he was finally able to convince film investors to fund "Michael Collins," a project which was 10 years in the making. I knew little about the history of the struggle for Irish independence but after seeing this film, it propelled me to do a little research. As a history lesson Michael Collins does well in covering the main historical points but Jordan does little in presenting the British point of view.
The film begins with the Easter Rising of 1916, a violent protest in Dublin which resulted in the defeat and arrest of the leaders amongst the Irish rebels. What Jordan doesn't let on here is that the rebellion was not at all popular with the Irish people and the tide didn't turn until the British executed the majority of the rebels following the rebellion.
Liam Neeson does well in playing Collins as a dynamic, strong character but Collins was around thirty when the events of the film takes place and Neeson was about 14 years older. If you're willing to forgive the age difference, Neeson is quite believable as the fiery Irish leader who is still regarded as a George Washington figure amongst the contemporary Irish populace.
Jordan is at his best when he dispassionately regurgitates the sequence of events that led to the establishment of Ireland as a free state and the resulting civil war. Of particular note are the gripping scenes of escalating violence: Collins is a beaten by the Royal Irish Constabulary after speaking at an election rally; Collins recruits a squad of killers who murder 14 members of the MI5 "Cairo Gang" and the ensuing act of genocidal revenge taken by the "Black and Tans" paramilitary force at a soccer match; the IRA attack on the Custom House which Collins opposed as he knew the British would easily win; the attack on Collins after the treaty with the British, at an anti-Treaty Republican rally; the offensive against the "The Four Courts" by the anti-Treaty side of the IRA, despite Collins' bitter opposition; and the ambush of Collins, resulting in his death.
Also of great interest is the conflict between Collins and Eamon de Valera (played by an effective Alan Rickam) who early on felt that Collins was acting on his own. The actual split between the two leaders is foreshadowed when de Valera goes to meet President Woodrow Wilson in order to gain recognition of the IRA's objectives and takes Collins' best friend and constant companion, Harry Boland, with him. Eventually de Valera orders Collins to negotiate the treaty with the British over his objections that he's not a diplomat. And it was de Valera who split with Collins over the terms of the treaty which broke Ireland into two and still had the new Irish Free State swearing allegiance to the Crown.
What's most fascinating about Collins is that initially he was regarded as a terrorist by the British but after negotiating the treaty between Ireland and the UK, he was now regarded as a "moderate." In fact, during the Irish civil war, the British supplied arms to Collins' forces who eventually defeated the anti-Treaty faction. Jordan argues that Collins' targets were either brutal forces of the British intelligence service or Irish collaborators, not innocent civilians. Whatever the case, Collins, who was yesterday's terrorist now became today's dignified statesman.
Jordan unfortunately leaves out the British side of the story. Instead, they're all evil or supporters of evil. Jordan is not adverse to twisting historical facts to make the British seem worse. The scene of the massacre at the soccer match is exaggerated—no armored vehicle entered the premises and machine gunned people in the stands. A British Court of Inquiry found that the actions of the paramilitary group "was carried out without orders and exceeded the demands of the situation." The commander of the Dublin District stated that "the firing on the crowd was carried out without orders, was indiscriminate, and unjustifiable, with the exception of any shooting which took place inside the enclosure." Nonetheless it was also true that this inquiry was suppressed by the British government. The King of England and some British politicians expressed their horror at the Bloody Sunday massacre and such a public relations disaster did much to strengthen the hand of de Valera's government, eventually leading to the peace treaty between Ireland and England.
The killing of the double agent Irish detective who aided Collins, Ned Broy, also appeared to be designed by Jordan to manipulate the audience into hating the British even more. Broy is actually a composite character of three people. While people were tortured by the British (particularly those who were involved in the assassinations of British intelligence agents on Bloody Sunday), Broy lived well into his 80s.
Jordan's decision to take a few liberties with historical events and characters doesn't seem so bad in light of his overall success in depicting the chronology of events in the Irish fight for independence and its aftermath. Nonetheless, aside from Collins (and perhaps de Valera) most of the other characters in the drama are unremarkable and certainly Julia Roberts has little to do as the love interest between Collins and sideman Boland.
While necessary, after a while, many of the violent goings on in Michael Collins, felt more like a docudrama. Only when the conflict between de Valera and Collins heats up, can one say that the narrative becomes truly compelling. Again what's missing is the British point of view (and perhaps a singular antagonist) which could have added to the efficaciousness of this well staged period piece.
The film begins with the Easter Rising of 1916, a violent protest in Dublin which resulted in the defeat and arrest of the leaders amongst the Irish rebels. What Jordan doesn't let on here is that the rebellion was not at all popular with the Irish people and the tide didn't turn until the British executed the majority of the rebels following the rebellion.
Liam Neeson does well in playing Collins as a dynamic, strong character but Collins was around thirty when the events of the film takes place and Neeson was about 14 years older. If you're willing to forgive the age difference, Neeson is quite believable as the fiery Irish leader who is still regarded as a George Washington figure amongst the contemporary Irish populace.
Jordan is at his best when he dispassionately regurgitates the sequence of events that led to the establishment of Ireland as a free state and the resulting civil war. Of particular note are the gripping scenes of escalating violence: Collins is a beaten by the Royal Irish Constabulary after speaking at an election rally; Collins recruits a squad of killers who murder 14 members of the MI5 "Cairo Gang" and the ensuing act of genocidal revenge taken by the "Black and Tans" paramilitary force at a soccer match; the IRA attack on the Custom House which Collins opposed as he knew the British would easily win; the attack on Collins after the treaty with the British, at an anti-Treaty Republican rally; the offensive against the "The Four Courts" by the anti-Treaty side of the IRA, despite Collins' bitter opposition; and the ambush of Collins, resulting in his death.
Also of great interest is the conflict between Collins and Eamon de Valera (played by an effective Alan Rickam) who early on felt that Collins was acting on his own. The actual split between the two leaders is foreshadowed when de Valera goes to meet President Woodrow Wilson in order to gain recognition of the IRA's objectives and takes Collins' best friend and constant companion, Harry Boland, with him. Eventually de Valera orders Collins to negotiate the treaty with the British over his objections that he's not a diplomat. And it was de Valera who split with Collins over the terms of the treaty which broke Ireland into two and still had the new Irish Free State swearing allegiance to the Crown.
What's most fascinating about Collins is that initially he was regarded as a terrorist by the British but after negotiating the treaty between Ireland and the UK, he was now regarded as a "moderate." In fact, during the Irish civil war, the British supplied arms to Collins' forces who eventually defeated the anti-Treaty faction. Jordan argues that Collins' targets were either brutal forces of the British intelligence service or Irish collaborators, not innocent civilians. Whatever the case, Collins, who was yesterday's terrorist now became today's dignified statesman.
Jordan unfortunately leaves out the British side of the story. Instead, they're all evil or supporters of evil. Jordan is not adverse to twisting historical facts to make the British seem worse. The scene of the massacre at the soccer match is exaggerated—no armored vehicle entered the premises and machine gunned people in the stands. A British Court of Inquiry found that the actions of the paramilitary group "was carried out without orders and exceeded the demands of the situation." The commander of the Dublin District stated that "the firing on the crowd was carried out without orders, was indiscriminate, and unjustifiable, with the exception of any shooting which took place inside the enclosure." Nonetheless it was also true that this inquiry was suppressed by the British government. The King of England and some British politicians expressed their horror at the Bloody Sunday massacre and such a public relations disaster did much to strengthen the hand of de Valera's government, eventually leading to the peace treaty between Ireland and England.
The killing of the double agent Irish detective who aided Collins, Ned Broy, also appeared to be designed by Jordan to manipulate the audience into hating the British even more. Broy is actually a composite character of three people. While people were tortured by the British (particularly those who were involved in the assassinations of British intelligence agents on Bloody Sunday), Broy lived well into his 80s.
Jordan's decision to take a few liberties with historical events and characters doesn't seem so bad in light of his overall success in depicting the chronology of events in the Irish fight for independence and its aftermath. Nonetheless, aside from Collins (and perhaps de Valera) most of the other characters in the drama are unremarkable and certainly Julia Roberts has little to do as the love interest between Collins and sideman Boland.
While necessary, after a while, many of the violent goings on in Michael Collins, felt more like a docudrama. Only when the conflict between de Valera and Collins heats up, can one say that the narrative becomes truly compelling. Again what's missing is the British point of view (and perhaps a singular antagonist) which could have added to the efficaciousness of this well staged period piece.