General, The

On August 18, 1994, in a suburb of Dublin, Martin Cahill, nicknamed The General, was assassinated outside his house. John Boorman`s film begins with the death of its principal character, and then proceeds to unfold the story of his life.

Cahill, Brendan Gleeson, endured a rough working-class upbringing and quickly established himself as a professional burglar, though he maintained a wary friendship with Ned Kenny, Jon Voight, a local cop. Cahill wasn`t afraid to make enemies; he defied the religious conventions so much a part of Irish society by having children both by his wife, Maria Doyle Kennedy, and sister-in-law, Angeline Ball. He even made an enemy of the IRA, by doing deals with the loyalists...

This magnificent film from John Boorman, which deservedly won him the Best Director award in Cannes last year, juggles affectionate humour with a more serious tone in unfolding this biography. Cahill was obviously a man of many faces - he could be charming and funny, but he could also be brutal and ruthless. Gleeson is amazingly good in the role (so is young Eamann Owens from The Butcher Boy who plays Cahill as a child), and Boorman`s bold decision to film in black and white is fully justified by the gritty approach to this contemporary Irish saga.