Adhering closely to fact, this gripping film
about the aftermath of a 1998 car bombing in the Northern Ireland town
of Omagh derives its dramatic power from the common determination of
a diverse bunch of survivors, Catholic and Protestant, to identify the
perpetrators and bring them to justice. Actor Gerard McSorley, an Omagh
native, disappears into his role as Michael Gallagher, the bereaved
father who battles point-scoring politicians and face-saving police
to find an explanation for what exactly happened – and what should
be done about it. The film is superbly directed by first-timer Pete
Travis, and achieves some of its most potent effects through restraint.
(In the immediate aftermath of the bomb it is the living he shows us,
not the dead.) The impact of terrorism on ordinary citizens in the democratic
West, and the political impediments to healing, have not been more credibly
or movingly explored in a film since 9/11, if ever. Nor has the sense
that governments will only pay lip service to the healing process. The
pertinence of this inspiring film to the political exploitation of 9/11
victims and survivors is never stated, but impossible to ignore. —
Bill Gosden
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