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'71
Directed by Yann Demange





The only other film I've seen starring Jack O'Connell is Starred Up (2014), which, after watching '71, I realize that his talents were completely wasted on.

O'Connell plays a young soldier who is deployed to Nothern Ireland during the troubles of the nineteen seventies. He soon finds himself on a patrol - sent out to search a house for IRA guns - during which time his patrol is attacked by a mob. He is soon on his own, being chased thorugh the backstreets by IRA gunmen.

During his fight for survival, O'Connell finds himself caught up in a web of military corruption and republican duplicity. The film captures perfectly the atmosphere of a civil warzone, both from the perspective of soldiers and civilians alike. O'Connell doesn't know who to trust as his superiors loyalties are unclear and he take refuge in, of all places, an IRA stronghold - a stronghold which plays host to the films tense and thrilling climax.

'71 is probably the best film about Northwern Ireland and the IRA I've seen since Hunger (2008), both films featuring great performances from British actors.