Danny Boy Review

Danny Boy is the latest TV film to be made for BBC Two. It focuses on the war veteran Brian Wood and human rights lawyer Phil Shiner.

Brian Wood (Anthony Boyle) is a soldier who served during the Iraq War and was rewarded for his bravery for fighting in the Battle of Danny Boy. However, he struggles with PTSD when he returns to England which affects his relationship with his wife and children. The Battle of Danny Boy becomes the focus of attention for Phil Shiner (Toby Jones) who believed the British army committed war crimes. Brian begins to doubt his actions at the battle.

In recent years BBC Two have released some excellent TV films. Mother’s Day and Responsible Child were prime examples of this. Danny Boy had the potential to join them, but it ended up being a lackluster experience. Danny Boy had two great story ideas: a personal story about a man struggling with the toll and getting accused of horrible acts and a lawyer being so determined It prove that he did some unethical things. Danny Boy does have a major handicap: its length.

Danny Boy was less than 90 minutes long yet it told a story that took place over 10 years and was trying to cover so much ground. What ends up happening with Danny Boy was nothing was explored with any great detail. An example of something being brushed over was when Brian’s wife, Lucy (Leah McNamara) gives birth to their second child. In the film she was suddenly heavily pregnant, goes into labour and Brian has to rush her to the hospital.

The film was aiming to have an emotional core through Brian and his family. After his service in the Iraq War Brian suffered from PTSD and this took a toll on Lucy because she was having to look after their young son as well as struggling with her husband’s night terrors. Brian’s relationship with his father (Alex Ferns), who was also a soldier, played a major part in the film. The acting was excellent in their scenes and there was dramatic weight to them but the way they were directed came across as flat.

The storyline involving Shiner’s investigation should have been compelling as he searches for evidence and witnesses, build a case and go to court. But the film suffers from a case of telling instead of showing. An example of this was when the lawyers celebrate getting an inquiry. They talk about the arguments they made at court instead of showing them in court making their case. The case only collapses because of an administrative error, which was realistic but hardly dramatic and came across as underwhelming.

The storytelling in the film was disjointed. Despite Shiner’s investigation having serious implications for Brian the two stories were too distant from each other. To Shiner, Brian wasn’t even on his radar, the lawyer was thinking of the big picture. For Brian, there was a lack of urgency because there weren’t any events like being interviewed or having to meet a lawyer.

The saving grace for the film was the acting. Toby Jones was the most well-known actor in Danny Boy and he normally commits to a role. He played the most interesting character in the film because he was blinded by his political briefs. His anti-war views resulted in him saying that British soldiers got away with murder. It was a dangerous state of mind because he wasn’t seeking the truth and was trying to prove his viewpoint.

Anthony Boyle is a young and upcoming actor. He played Scorpius Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in both London and New York and has appeared in shows like Derry Girls and The Plot Against America. Boyle had a juicy role because of all the mental trauma his character went through and he worked well with the actors who played his wife and father.

Danny Boyle was a great example of squandered potential. The story of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team and Phil Shiner could have easily filled a miniseries but Danny Boyle rushed its story, which was a disservice.