‘‘71’ review - A film of mood and impression

Following in the wake of the superb Captain Phillips opening last year’s BFI London Film Festival, Yann Demange’s debut ’71 is a worthy counterpart to Paul Greengrass’s film in terms of delivering sheer relentless tension that will have you gasping for air. Even at a brisk 99 minutes, ’71 is as impressive an example of conducting gripping human drama since Greengrass’s own debut Bloody Sunday, and is sure to be heralded in this year’s First Feature Competition strand.

Set in 1971 during the volatile conflict in Northern Ireland, rookie soldier Gary Hook – played by a sensational Jack O’Connell - and his inexperienced regiment are deployed as peacekeepers but are suddenly embroiled in an explosive riot. Separated in the mêlée, Gary is abandoned, left to navigate the murky waters of the Catholic and Protestant divide, as well as the sinister gangsterism of undercover British military – singularly captured in a terrifying performance from Sean Harris. Exactly who is the enemy is constantly questioned as Gary descends further down the rabbit hole.

As a fictionalised story, no doubt welded together from real-life events and detailed research, ’71 is a film of mood and impression, aimed at presenting a slither of the atmosphere of 1970s Belfast. The level of authenticity and period detail established greatly elevates how much audiences will be gripping their armrests in terror as one intense scene follows another.

Typically Jack O’Connell has a dominant alpha-male aura, put to great effect in recent dramas such as This Is England, Starred Up and even the popular teen series Skins in which he first became recognised as a future star. In ’71 he is required however to work in a lower key and with much less bravado than audiences might have come accustomed to. Though set in the world of hyper-masculinity as a member of the armed forces, O’Connell pitches his performance to note-perfect precision as a young and inexperienced soldier thrown into the fires of conflict.

Here we find O’Connell working on bare bones in terms of dialogue – should he reveal he is English it would certainly prove to be fatal – and his muted performance, using extraordinarily nuanced facial expressions, is proof of an outstanding actor who is already showing great versatility.

Because of the still-existing tensions to do with this particular subject matter, Demange and writer Gregory Burke have opened themselves up to the criticism of cynically using the ‘Troubles’ to easily heighten the drama of the film. And indeed there are moments when you might question whether it was necessary that the filmmakers settled on such a controversial backdrop. Would the drama have been less felt if it had taken place in a non-politicised setting?

On the merits of what to expect from a visceral and suffocating thriller, however, ’71 is a high achiever and further evidence that Jack O’Connell’s rise to stardom isn’t in any doubt.

’71 opened in the First Feature Competition 9^th October at the 58^th BFI London Film Festival, 8^th October – 19th October.