In the Name of the Father

Gerry Conlon was once a petty thief in Belfast, Ireland. Today, he's a liv­ing reminder of one of the more ille­gal and high-handed acts committed in recent years by the British government.

In the mid-1970s, Conlon was ensnared in a web of circumstance that resulted in his conviction for an Irish Republican Army bombing in London and serving 15 years of a life sentence — even though British pros­ecutors knew that Conlon was innocent. It would be bad enough if only Conlon had suffered, but many of his friends and family were unjustly accused as well, including Cordon's father, who died in prison.

The new film In the Name of the Father is based on Cordon's case and details the injustice perpetrated on him. The film is fueled by a who's who of currently hot Irish movie types: Gabriel Byrne as executive producer, Jim Sheridan (creator of My Left Foot) as producer-director and Daniel Day-Lewis as star (it even has Sinead O'Connor on the soundtrack). Given the topic and chief personnel, you can under­stand why such a strong sense of militancy underscores In the Name of the Father. All in all, the movie promises to be as dark as Guinness Ale and as thick as Irish stew. And, for the most part, it is.

The story opens onto a typical day in Belfast in 1974. Heavily armed Eng­lish troops are on the prowl for IRA snipers, and Conlon is just dense enough to pick this day to attempt a roof-top robbery, despite the soldiers' presence. Not surpris­ingly, he's mistaken for a sniper and pursued through "sensitive" areas in which the IRA has secretly stockpiled weapons. The local IRA bosses are forced to relocate the weapons, and decide that Conlon deserves a little kneecapping as payment for the trouble he caused them. Thanks to his father's inter­vention, however, the "discipline" goes only so far, and Conlon is spared from being per­manently crippled.

Conlon's family packs him off to London for a while to keep him out of trouble. But the war in Northern Ireland is heating up, and the IRA decides to take the battle straight to England. Bombs start exploding throughout London, and one attack on a pub kills five people. Conlon chooses this unfortunate period to go skipping back to Belfast, unaware that he's a possible suspect in the bombings and is under surveillance by the British intelligence — until British troops show up in his bedroom one night.

In the Name of the Father is a surprisingly taut recreation of the Conlon case, with strong performances by Day-Lewis and Pete Postlethwaite, as Cordon's father. Emma Thompson's fans, however, may feel cheated by her limited role in the movie.

In the Name of the Father contains some minor flaws, but it's a good, strong film nonetheless - be prepared to walk out of the theater feeling outraged.