Friday, July 31, 2009

Great Bit from Fifty Dead Men Walking


A searing chase scene above from Fifty Dead Men Walking.

If you live in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton or Winnipeg there's a great little thriller you should make some time for. Set in Belfast as the height of "The Troubles" Fifty Dead Men Walking is a tale about a young man caught in the middle of a war. Based on a true story, Jim Sturgess plays Martin, a two-bit thief who becomes a British spy as he rises through the ranks of the IRA.

The movie is about the lies each side tells each other, about the men thrown on the funeral pyre for the greater good. Directed by Canadian Kari Skogland, it can be at times generic, although the street battles are riveting. The image of a young girl, her bright knee socks flashing as she picks up a brick to lob at the soldiers, still sticks in my mind. Shot on location in Belfast and it shows.

But the performances are what make this one. Sturgess does a great job of a young man who is slowly slipping into an inescapable situation. And leading him along the way as the British handler is our modern-day Olivier, Ben Freakin Kingsley. Say no more.

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