Belfast Review

Belfast, writer-director Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical story about a snippet of his childhood in the capital city of Northern Ireland is, for my money, his best film since Much Ado About Nothing all the way back in the early ‘90s. For a filmmaker who has a tendency to get a bit too wrapped up in the artistic elements of a story – which leads to over direction, over writing, and, when he’s starring in the film (which isn’t the case here), over acting – Branagh curbs those impulses and – aside from a few moments that don’t quite work – crafts an emotionally compelling, smart, and well-structured film that never loses sight of what it wants to present: what the turbulent times of the late-1960s Belfast felt like for a child.

For those who might not know about The Troubles – the term given to the sectarian violence within Northern Ireland throughout the 20^th century – violent clashes would occur between the country’s Catholic and Protestant communities (one, fighting for a reunification of Ireland, the other for continued control of the country by the British crown).

One such clash – with a Protestant mob fire-bombing Catholic homes on a mixed street in Belfast where our central, Protestant family lives – kicks off Belfast. We see the attack through the eyes of Buddy (newcomer Jude Hill who is just the right amount of precocious and a blank slate on which the film rests), a nine-year-old boy who doesn’t grasp why he shouldn’t like the Catholic kids on the street and in his class at school. We see through Buddy’s eyes as his parents (Jamie Dornan – used to great effect in his best role in years – and Caitriona Balfe, who carries a lot of the story in her capable hands) and older brother (a very good Lewis McAskie) grapple with the increasing violence in and around their neighborhood as British troops set up a blockade around their street and local gang leaders pressure them to pick a side. And we watch as Buddy spends time with his aging grandparents (Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds – the heart and humor within the film), learning key life lessons that will no doubt buoy him through the rest of his life.

Branagh’s smartest decision within the film is structuring it – the story, the camera angles, the dialogue – as if it’s being experienced by Buddy. By my count, there are only two scenes in the entire film that don’t have Buddy in them in some manner – whether he’s sneaking down the stairs at night to witness a tense moment between his parents through the banister or sitting in the backyard with his grandfather overhearing a conversation in the house. The use of Buddy as our entry to this world allows the story to be a bit more rudimentary than might be the case if our protagonist were an adult looking back on his childhood. The adults in his world loom large in the shots, gorgeous as old Hollywood movie stars. After all, what kid doesn’t think their parents are the stars of their life? The little girl he has a crush on at school has long, flowing hair and a smile to die for. An older cousin seems to know everything about the outside world – why shouldn’t Buddy follow her advice when it comes to talking to the Catholics? With Buddy as our gateway, it’s easy to understand this world in black and white terms.

Speaking of black and white, Branagh make’s the choice to film in black and white – a smart move that lends itself to setting the story in the past. However, there are key bursts of color within the film – but only when Buddy is experiencing the magical escapism of film, television, or the theatre – a choice Branagh said he made because those elements were so crucial to his own childhood escapes. When watching a film or seeing a play, he was able to shut out the outside problems – The Troubles – and be transported to another place, and it inspired him to venture into the world of acting himself. Those moments of lightness appearing in color might seem a touch obvious, but again, when you are seeing the world through the mind of a nine-year-old boy, it’s entirely fitting.

The film does stumble a few times. Some of the speeches given to Buddy’s mother are a touch overwrought and hardly something a young boy would understand, much less pay much mind to (although Balfe delivers them well). And the final line of the film, while moving when taken in context, also suffers from the same overwrought nature as the speeches. The film could also do with a bit more in terms of structure – which, of course, can be chalked up to having the viewpoint of its young protagonist – as beats don’t necessarily flow seamlessly throughout, and we could have used some additional time with Buddy’s parents to get a grasp on some of their relationship difficulties to help deepen their characters. And that’s a big problem with the film: outside of Buddy, there’s not a whole lot of character development to be had throughout the film. When you have a cast as strong as this one, you can’t help but wish they had a bit more to actually do.

Ultimately, those issues don’t detract from the emotional impact of the story and the interesting tale being told. Belfast isn’t likely to go down in the annals of film history as a classic, but it does a great job with what it is trying to accomplish: provide insight into a dark and turbulent time in Northern Ireland while excising some of its writer-director’s own demons from that memory. It’s hard not to be swept away by a young boy’s desire to keep all that he holds dear together, in one place, while the outside world attempts to pull his world apart at the seams. If you’re looking for an emotionally impactful film, this is absolutely one you should give a look.

Belfast will be released in US theatres on Friday, November 12, and UK theatres on Friday, February 25. This film was screened at the Chicago International Film Festival.