On October 6, 1974, a bomb exploded in a pub in Guildford, a small town in England, killing several people. This bombing, the latest in a series of attacks by the IRA, was the straw that broke the camel's back, as far as the British public was concerned, and led to the government passing sweeping anti-terrorism acts. Among them was a law saying the police could hold anybody under suspicion for a week without giving a reason. This, among many other laws, led to the arrest of Gerry Conlon, Paul Hill, Patrick Armstrong, and Carole Richardson, all of whom later became known as the "Guildford Four." They were tried, convicted, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Also sent to jail were Conlon's father Giuseppe and several others, eventually known as the "Birmingham Seven," for help they supposedly gave. While Giuseppe died in prison, Gerry maintained his confession was bogus, as was the evidence against him. In 1989, with the help of lawyers such as Gareth Peirce, he was finally able to appeal his conviction and have it overturned, along with the others still in prison, and they were set free.
The above paragraph is enough for a great muckraking movie that's in the time-honored tradition of the "wrongly accused" dramas we love to watch (although it's depressing how many "wrongly accused" there are to feed stories like this). But Jim Sheridan's IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, adapted by Sheridan and Terry George from Conlon's book "Proved Innocent," has more on its mind than just muckraking. It's also the story of the relationship between Gerry and Giuseppe, and those two stories add complexity to each other, making this a stronger film.
When we first meet Gerry (Daniel-Day Lewis), he's a petty thug living wild on the streets of Belfast. He's merely out to have a good time, no matter what the consequences, even when the IRA are fighting against the occupying soldiers. In fact, the IRA is ready to kill him for that, until Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite) intervenes. Giuseppe is disgusted that Gerry hasn't made more of his life, while Gerry feels his father is too overbearing. But Giuseppe does send Gerry off on the boat to England in hopes he'll make a life there. Instead, Gerry meets Paul Hill (John Lynch), an old friend of his, on the boat, and they decide to have a good time together. Once in England, they find a commune, which also houses Armstrong (Mark Shepherd), who's also Irish, and Richardson (Beatie Edney), who's British. However, their antics are too much even for the commune (plus, Gerry is making moves on the girlfriend (Saffron Burrows) of the commune leader), so Gerry and Paul are kicked out of there. On the night of October 6, they rob a prostitute's house, and Gerry decides to return to Belfast. It's there, a couple of weeks later, that he's arrested.
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