Belfast

[Juniper68]

Has anyone seen it?
I'm thinking of going. Jamie Dornan has nothing to do with it

It was a nice way to spend a Saturday afternoon but I didn't 'love' it. I thought it was quite superficial in places and I felt like I needed more character development. (Although Ciaran Hinds was excellent.) There could have been much more depth to the relationship between Jamie Dornan and his wife ... and Judi Dench was miscast.
I was expecting to be completely captivated by it - but there was something missing.

I'm from NI and lived throughout the Troubles. I thought the movie was just ok, but a bit sentimental for my taste. I thought the sound track was good, I used to love Van the Man (yes I know he is a bit of a twat now). I do remembering watching a very young Branagh in the Billy plays (Too late to talk to Billy etc.), I found them much more interesting and enjoyable (also set in working class Belfast) during the Troubles), I wonder if they are available any where to re watch?

My DH and I both enjoyed it. He was in tears at the end!
But perhaps enjoy isn't quite the right word. Mark Kermode said that it was a happy film shot through with sadness, but I feel that it's the reverse. Sometimes the sheer awfulness of what was going on was distressing. But, hey, that's what films are for.
Minor point - I couldn't believe that there would only be 10 children in the school class.

I enjoyed it (and shed a tear at the end) but agree with some that it sagged slightly in the middle. We used to travel through NI to Donegal in the 80s and it made me think of those journeys and sitting in a car at a checkpoint with snipers lying in the grass nearby, etc. Such a weird juxtaposition of day to day life and then the threat of violence that hung over NI.

Did nobody else find it jarring to see the policeman from The Fall as Jamie Dornan's nemesis?? And Judi Dench was terribly miscast - they should have used a younger actress.

I saw this film last night. I am not from the UK so know very very little about the Troubles, but it has led me to seek out more information and I have bought some books from Amazon. I thought the little boy was exceptional. He had such spare, subtle facial expressions at times which displayed exactly what he was thinking. It was an extraordinary performance by him I thought. I felt frustrated by the mother being so determined to not leave for a better life- but was at the same time perfectly aware that I never had that strong sense of family and community (otherwise I might not have migrated myselfl which is what I did aged 26 to the UK). So the film for me has opened up my eyes to another world and other lives that I really knew so little about and has triggered me to seek out more knowledge and information.

Agree with the general gist of the comments above.

"Belfast" is beautifully filmed, and while the black and white seems a bit naff, it worked here. The little boy was absolutely amazing and a beautiful child. In fact, I'd say all the acting was good except for Judi Dench, who as others have said, was miscast. Her accent was terrible and she was simply too old for the role. She is 19 years older than Ciarian Hinds, but I guess it makes a refreshing change when an actress is cast with a much younger actor whose character is meant to be the same age. It's almost always the other way round.

I did feel it was very Oscar baity and self-indulgent, but then it's Kenneth Branagh so I would expect no less. The humour often seemed a bit contrived and I guess the film lacked 'suspense' since it was semi autobiographical and most viewers will have known that the family would end up moving to England. I also disliked the soundtrack. I'm not a Van Morrison fan at the best of times, and using his music for a film called 'Belfast' just seemed such a cliche.

That said, over all I did enjoy it, mainly for the wee lad.

I see both Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds have been nominated for Oscars.

Nothing for Jude Hill or Caitriona Balfe.

No way did Judi Dench deserve the nomination. She's a great actress, obviously, but this was not a good performance.

@IcedPurple

I see both Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds have been nominated for Oscars.

Nothing for Jude Hill or Caitriona Balfe.

No way did Judi Dench deserve the nomination. She's a great actress, obviously, but this was not a good performance.

Agree. I've been watching the Oscar noms. I've a few films to catch up on.

Judi Dench's accent was really off putting. Couldn't work out where she was meant to be from.

I’m looking forward to seeing it. KB and my dad were friends, and would apparently cause havoc down Argyle street. They lost touch though when they were teenagers. Not sure who left Belfast first. I wish my dad was still alive to watch it with and ask him…..

All a bit too sentimental for my liking. No edge and the sharp humour in Belfast was completely missing.
A couple of very odd scenes which were just totally unrealistic.
Good enough acting and I liked the soundtrack but completely failed to get the essence of the place at all. Too sanitised and dull

That's an interesting comment about it being sanitised. I think we are maybe viewing it through the eyes of knowing what happened next.

@hopeishere

That's an interesting comment about it being sanitised. I think we are maybe viewing it through the eyes of knowing what happened next.

Also, the film is through the eyes of a 9 year old boy. He could see the thugs at the end of his street, but would have had little understanding of the broader picture. And despite everything, life went on. He still went to school, played football and nicked Turkish Delight from the local shop. In that sense, I don't really think it's 'sanitised'.

I went today, loved it. Fabulous performances from so many people, (wonderful Ciaran Hinds never puts a foot wrong). Nice to see Colin Morgan cast against type as a Protestant thug and Michael Maloney as Mr West, checking people in and out of the street. The kids were all superb, especially Jude Hill of course.

I first saw Ken Branagh in the "Billy" trilogy on BBC in the early 80s, playing a Belfast teenager. Must see if they're available anywhere so I can watch them again.

That’s really interesting @MummyJ12. I’m sad your dad isn’t here to watch it too. I’m sure it would have been fascinating to see what he thought and his memories.

I’d forgotten that series @StarbucksSmarterSister. I think we watched it and I have vague memories of one of my sisters doing skits based on it. I knew she used to do an “our Billy” in a northern accent but had no idea where it came from!

I saw it this evening and really enjoyed it, Caitriona Balfe was a stand out in it. Judi Denchs accent wasn't strong enough and she looked too old. Ciaran Hinds was also excellent.
DH was brought on on the Shankill Road and enjoyed it. He's boring me rigid with childhood stories now
I prefer Jamie with a beard

Positives: Catriona Balfe and Ciaran Hind were superb. Jamie Dornan very strong. The kid was ok but a bit too child actor-y for me.

All hugely dragged down by Judi Dench's fucking WOEFUL accent. Brannagh casting her for clout over an actual Northern Irish actress speaks volumes about how authentic his status is as an Irishman.

I found the whole thing oddly underpowered and pointless and I agree that Judi Dench was miscast. Apart from being 30 years too old for the part, Kenneth Branagh has worked with her enough times to know how poor she is at accents so her casting was a self-indulgent decision on his part.

I think self-indulgent casting has been a Kenneth Branagh thing at least since his 'Hamlet' film a quarter of a century ago. Even minor roles were played by big stars, which was quite distracting. Same with his recent 'Orient Express' film. I think he loves to show off how he is such great buddies with all these A listers.

This is KB when he lived in Belfast, the actor playing Buddy looks very similar to him.

I watched it yesterday and am still thinking about it. Am 43, born ten years after events in the film, lived in Northern Ireland all my life, about 10 miles outside Belfast....so was never as acutely affected as those on the front lines.

However, The Troubles and Peace Process and "post conflict" society we are now supposed to be in are all the backdrop to my life and have shaped me very much into who I am. The repercussions are felt down the generations. I think the post below from another poster sums up how I feel about the film...

JustAnotherSod
I thought it was excellent - it seemed to be a love letter to Belfast but also a lament to what Belfast lost because of the Troubles - all through the eyes of one little boy, who could have been any one of the thousands and thousands of kids of his generation.

The onscreen wording at the end, dedicating it to those who left, those who stayed and for those that were lost, made me cry.

The wee girl in the pink skirt looks like Buddy's crush
I wonder does his crush remember him now.
The older girl is similar to Moira, the older friend in the movie.

Catriona Balfe was superb - she deserved to be nominated for an Oscar. A real nuanced performance.
Jamie Dornan was gorgeous.
Ciaran Hinds deserves his Oscar nomination.
Judi Dench's accent - where was she supposed to be from ?
She sounded more like Philomena Lee ( movie Philomena ) from County Limerick than a granny from Tiger's Bay Belfast
Still you can forgive her as she's a National Treasure.
I thought the film was lovely.
It somehow managed to avoid being sectarian imo, despite its setting.

I saw it this evening and I really enjoyed it, as did teen DD who has been learning about the Troubles at school but didn't grow up with them. It brought it all to life for her. I agree with those of you who said that Caitríona Balfe was outstanding. And that Ciarán Hinds deserves his nomination. Both DD and I thought that Jamie Dornan was very handsome . I was so engrossed in the film and in Branagh's family and in Belfast itself that it was a bit of a shock when it ended and I walked out to the brightly lit cinema foyer. I fully expected the streets outside the cinema to be the narrow terraced streets from the movie. I was a bit disorientated for a few minutes.

@IPokeBadgers

I watched it yesterday and am still thinking about it. Am 43, born ten years after events in the film, lived in Northern Ireland all my life, about 10 miles outside Belfast....so was never as acutely affected as those on the front lines.

However, The Troubles and Peace Process and "post conflict" society we are now supposed to be in are all the backdrop to my life and have shaped me very much into who I am. The repercussions are felt down the generations. I think the post below from another poster sums up how I feel about the film...

JustAnotherSod
I thought it was excellent - it seemed to be a love letter to Belfast but also a lament to what Belfast lost because of the Troubles - all through the eyes of one little boy, who could have been any one of the thousands and thousands of kids of his generation.

The onscreen wording at the end, dedicating it to those who left, those who stayed and for those that were lost, made me cry.

Yes....very poignant wording at the end.....and Van the Man singing ‘and the healing has begun’

I really enjoyed the film, and thought some of the acting was superb. The little boy who played Buddy and Ciaran Hinds in particular. No idea why Judi Dench was nominated for an Oscar. I loved the soundtrack and thought the cinematography was beautiful.

I grew up in N Ireland during the troubles so I expected to be very moved by the film. Surprisingly I wasn't, perhaps because it felt like quite a one dimensional view, which is understandable as it was about one boy's experience. I really enjoyed it though. There were some things that just didn't ring true - eg there wasn't a single pupil in my primary school or grammar school who wasn't white. Throughout my childhood I didn't know a single person of colour. I certainly never saw an Indian corner shop anywhere in Belfast! But it was great to see Stewart's Supermarket. Happy memories of my Saturday job.

I did cry though when Van Morrison sang 'Carrickfergus'. It made me feel terribly homesick.