Belfast

Starring: Jude Hill, Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Ciaran Hinds, Lewis McAskie, Josie Walker, Nessa Eriksson, Michael Maloney, Colin Morgan
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: In the 1960s, a family living in Belfast struggle with the political conflict building around them.

Review:

Tim: As the Academy Awards heated up in the Fall of 2021 and into 2022, Belfast seemed like the kind of film I would easily root for. It was a deeply personal film directed by Kenneth Branagh, a truly talented writer/director. It was a coming-of-age story set in Northern Ireland and it focused on one family's experience of The Troubles, an interesting historical conflict. Even though I hadn't seen the movie by the time of the Oscars, I was hoping it would do well. It only walked away with 1 Academy Award, for Best Original Screenplay. After seeing the movie, I get it. Belfast is absolutely a good movie, but it falls short of being great. This one of those films where I feel so mixed- I really, really enjoyed it, but it also manages to not quite hit expectations. It should have been one of the best movies of the year, and it's bothersome to me that it likely falls short of that mark.

Branagh's film is a bit hard to pin down. It does all the right things. It balances drama with more lighthearted moments. It focuses on one family and the different personalities that make up that familial unit. It's also about events bigger than any one family, as they get caught up in a historical conflict. It's filmed in black and white to bring out the starkness of the story and help it feel like you're watching a memory. And yet, despite all these elements, Branagh never delivers the knockout punch. He doesn't firmly establish these characters deeply enough for us to become powerfully connected to them. I liked the characters, but I didn't feel an emotional connection to them. As the film progressed, I somewhat cared about their stories and their troubles, but I never felt like they were my own. This seems so odd to me.

Some of it is that there's quite a few characters in this film, arguably too many. We don't spend nearly enough time with most of them. Jude Hill's character is clearly the lead and we get the most time with him. Not surprisingly, he's the most sympathetic character. That part was good and Hill's performance is memorable and effective. Caitriona Balfe was excellent- in my mind, she gives the best performance of the film. She feels like a supporting character, though. She performance felt authentic and emotional, your eye is drawn to whatever she's doing on screen. I never felt like she was acting for a moment and she conveys strong emotions throughout the film. I wish Balfe had a bigger role and didn't exist just on the margins of the story. Every time the camera focuses on her, the movie is better. Jamie Dornan was fine, but I'm not sure he is a strong enough actor to really drive this performance home. His work is solid, but unremarkable. The script feels like it doesn't quite know how to handle Balfe and Dornan- they seem to spin into each other, complain and fret about money or moving, and then spin back out. It eventually feels a bit repetitive and it's not especially compelling. Their story needed more power and urgency to it.

Judi Dench and Ciaran Hinds get some acclaim for their supporting roles, as they were both nominated for Academy Awards. If you're not going to claim Balfe is supporting (I think she was), then I get how Dench would receive a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Similar for Hinds and Best Supporting Actor- their performances aren't large, but they are excellent. What stood out to me is that their best work was done so subtly that it was easy to overlook. Hinds' best scene is this conversation he has with Hill. It starts out normal enough, but eventually you realize you're just riveted by what he's saying. He is doing all these small things with his face to draw you into the character and he casts this spell on the audience. But, he does it so quietly that you almost aren't aware of how spectacular his acting was. Dench does the same thing- her role isn't especially remarkable and you could easily overlook it or dismiss it. One of my favorite scenes of hers is on the bus- it's not that great of a scene as a whole, except the camera focuses on her face as she's looking out the window and then over to her grandson. What she does here is spectacular, but it's so subtle that you almost don't notice. I give them both a lot of credit for their performances here and I was glad they received nominations. Lewis McAskie feels completely left out- oh yeah, there was the brother, too. As a whole, you had good performances from the cast, but they weren't as powerful or memorable as they needed to be.

Again, I liked Belfast. Branagh's writing is superb and I see why his work won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. The film is certainly different and you can tell how personal the story was to Branagh in every frame. That's beautiful in a way and I was glad he was recognized. However, the story almost felt too personal- like it didn't connect as powerfully with others. One of those, "you had to be there" to really get it. That's fine, but a truly great movie would have put you there, made you feel transported to Northern Ireland, made you feel like a part of this family. As is, the movie tells their story but keeps the audience at a distance. That's why I think the movie is really good, but not quite great.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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