While the brutal tactics used by the police to forcibly attain his confession obviously scare him, the trial itself is sort of a lark to Gerry (which might have been another factor in convicting him), which is why the conviction comes as a shock. Even worse is the prospect of having to share a cell with Giuseppe, whom he thinks has never really appreciated him (he mentions a good grade that went unrecognized). And at first, even in prison, Gerry reverts to his fun-living, pot-smoking ways, although he eventually gives up pot for his father. Then he meets Joe McAndrew (Don Baker), a hardline IRA leader who tells the Conlons it was he who was responsible for the Guildford pub bombing. What's more, he told the police this (led by Corin Redgrave and Gerard McSorley), and they have said nothing. This is enough to turn Gerry into a pro-IRA man, but Giuseppe, a pacifist, is not moved, although he fights for his innocence in other ways. When McAndrew burns a guard, however, Gerry turns away from that as well.
While Giuseppe works to try and clear his name, as well as Gerry's, Gerry remains cynical about the whole thing, even when he meets Peirce (Emma Thompson). It's not until Giuseppe dies in prison that Gerry decides to fight for himself. By this time, the son has become the father. Gerry has grown from a callow, irresponsible boy to a fierce, principled man, and eventually is able to win his case and get himself and the others free, thanks to the efforts of Peirce (the film does take some dramatic license here, with a file accidentally falling into Peirce's hands).
Obviously, Sheridan and George are siding with their protagonists, showing not only the lack of evidence against them, but the illegal ways the British used to get it. Yet they're not making an anti-British or pro-IRA tract, as some critics have claimed. You do see the pressures on the police to do something about the wave of bombings, and they're far from the first government to adapt such extreme measures in the face of terror. As for the IRA, while Gerry may be a thief, he's not for killing innocents, and early on, when he's in a park in England and hears a bomb go off, we do see his face registering shock. And in prison, while he does join the IRA for a time, he's revulsed by McAndrew setting the guard on fire, and that's enough to turn him away. Instead, he (as do Sheridan and George) embraces his father's view; Giuseppe is pro-Irish, but he's a pacifist.
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