“Bloody Sunday” (2002)
“We will march peacefully this Sunday. And March. And March again”.
At the time of writing of this brief introduction (6th January 2023), London born director and filmmaker Paul Greengrass has added a further two films to the career cannon of work I catalogue in my opus article linked at the bottom of this paragraph. 22 July is a warts and all look at the mass shooting that shocked Norway in 2011 whilst News of the World sees the director re-team once more with Tom Hanks, but in my article I originally started a decade ago (and then updated with the release of Captain Phillips in 2013 and Jason Bourne in 2016), I catalogue Paul’s entire earlier big screen career, from The Theory of Flight in 1998 through to his continued collaboration with Matt Damon on the Bourne franchise.
Rather pleasingly, his next future project is scheduled to be another adaptation of the George Orwell novel 1984.
Paul first came to my attention with the release of Bloody Sunday in 2002 and it’s no surprise whatsoever that he chose a film a such as this as his second all time in the director’s chair following the gritty, investigative work he carried out for the UK TV series World in Action in the late 1980’s as well as Cutting Edge in the early 1990’s.
Just four years after helming Bloody Sunday here, Paul would direct the heart breaking United 93 as in between collaborating with Matt Damon on the worldwide success that is the Jason Bourne franchise, the English director would return time and again to gritty real life horror stories such as 9–11 (United 93), a 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates (Captain Phillips) and the largest mass killing in Norway’s history (22 July).
All of which are contained within my original blog article below as well as the full reproduction of my original spoiler free review of Bloody Sunday beneath it.
“We will march peacefully this Sunday. And March. And March again”.
Derry, Northern Ireland and sporadic gun fire shatters the night sky.
It’s 30th January 1972 and just a mere 17 days before this writer’s own introduction into the wide world. The scenes leading to the gunfire encapsulate the film as a whole, of contradiction and of juxtaposition, of scenes of peace and tranquillity set against scenes of carnage and mindless aggression. Bloody Sunday claimed the lives of 13 people, mostly teenagers, a further 14 wounded and is another stain on the British/English character. Paul Greengrass’ film is heavily slanted in favour of the peaceful civil rights activists and rightly so, but from a cinematic viewpoint, the key ingredients are the constant juxtapositions throughout.
The opening scenes demonstrate this perfectly, with “Ivan Cooper” (James Nesbitt) a local MP and Civil Rights Activist first seen addressing a small rally, preaching peace and a determination to push for realised civil rights for all. This is juxtaposed against a press conference by “Major General Ford” (Tim Piggott-Smith) confirming his army’s tough, no nonsense stance for the impending march. Supported by a large cast, stand out performances are also provided by Kathy Kiera Clarke as “Frances”, Christopher Villiers as “Major Steele” and Nicholas Farrell as “Brigadier Maclellan” amongst many, many others.
The juxtaposition theme runs throughout this astonishing film. From the brown, sepia tinged décor of the houses and offices to the sporadic gunfire outside, the gentle home life and romance through to preparing for a peaceful march with your friends. The army are depicted as a psyched up, ready for battle brigade (including Paratroopers and Snipers) against a backdrop of a peaceful Derry population in the main going about their daily business. It struck me immediately when I originally watched this film ten years ago how the army were dressed and ready for battle and on re-watching it is even more staggeringly depicted than when I first watched. Battle fatigues, heavily armed, boot polished faces and in large numbers wherever the camera is pointed. The film has three main narrative strands all running concurrently, and to continue the theme, are all juxtaposed against each other.
The peaceful march and the lead up to it (where Nesbitt shines as Ivan Cooper), the continual army preparation and the army situation room all run together throughout the film. As perma smiling Cooper, Nesbitt is superb and even his own persona has an honest duality. The smile masks anxiety for the march, for the safety of his friends, constituents and family. A smile and kiss for his parents as he proclaims “Just a Sunday afternoon stroll” belies his hidden fears, the pressures of a large crowd of people wanting to speak to him constantly, his inability to control everything, even his romance or attempted romance, with Frances. A key early scene sees their relationship at breaking point, yet even their quietest time together is fractured and constantly broken by a ringing telephone. Preparing for the march and drumming up local support as he walks the streets of his constituency, Cooper has a smile for everyone with a joke or two thrown in which is starkly juxtaposed against an intense military presence all around him. Contrast this with the later scenes, of the devastation and murder as Cooper retraces his steps on a similar walk just a few hours earlier. It’s truly heart breaking.
The soldiers themselves are in the main shown as violent aggressors, pumped up and awaiting the battle, “everyone that side of the wall is an enemy” as one proclaims and as already described, are heavily armed. Juxtapose this with the protesters throwing rocks and stones, the army retaliates with water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas before using live rounds of ammunition. Within the army’s situation room there is a clearly stated and concerted effort to be aggressive and to win the media “war” that will ensue. There is a very “British” behaviour, a might is right attitude, references to hooligans and thugs despite it being a peaceful march for civil rights. This is perfectly encapsulated by the exclamation “The hooligans will be caught in a pincer movement” during a high level briefing.
The juxtapositions continue throughout the film, both openly and sometimes subtly too. Cooper, addressing the march as it progresses preaches peace and invokes Gandhi and Martin Luther King whilst not two hundred yards away a splinter group is attacking and being forcibly attacked by the army. During his long walk of the streets early in the film, Cooper speaks with a (presumed) member of the IRA or at the least an opposition member intent on violence, yet Cooper can see only peaceful non co-operation as opposed to violence. The violence he sees is but yards away, dressed in battle fatigues. One subtle, even lighter juxtaposition again involves Cooper as he begins his walk from home, with the cinema opposite showing a double bill of “The Magnificent Seven” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday”.
The only music contained within the film comes during the closing credits, a famous U2 live version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” which continues as the screen fades to black for the remaining two minutes of actual screen time. Director Greengrass deserves great credit for providing an absolutely stunning recreation of the events of that infamous day and the lives it wrecked. Early trademarks of his later films are evident when re-watching, of his frantic cutting (here to pure blank slides), of his love for obscure and oblique camera angles and for crucial exposition coming from talking heads scenes that are well shot (using those obscure camera angles of course!) and well acted.
Again on re-watching, it was evident that all this was in place, but the key in this film was the one long camera shot to aid the usual two camera, talking heads shot. Here, there is often only one camera left on the actors as the scene is played out, but the camera never moves, the sound is somewhat indistinct at times, and this is used throughout the three narrative strands. What is evident, and brilliantly done, is the close in camera, right in the middle of the action and cameras that are constantly moving, shaking, involving you as the audience almost to participate, get involved and be a part of the action. The camera work is a marvel.
107 minutes of a wonderful film which was also written by Director Greengrass inspired by the book “Eyewitness Bloody Sunday” by Don Mullan. He is also hugely indebted to Ivan Strasberg (Cinematography) and Clare Douglas (Editing). And a certain James Nesbitt who is just brilliant.
So many dead from a peaceful march for civil liberties and freedom says it all. The film is still affecting ten years after release, and forty years since that terrible day. As is famously sung on a number of occasions in the film
“We Shall Overcome. We Shall Overcome. We Shall Overcome, Someday”.
Amen.
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 100 blog articles (with 300+ individual film reviews) within my archives from which to choose:
