Belfast (2021)
Starring Jude Hill, Caitriona Balfe, Judi Dench, Jamie Dornan, Ciarán Hinds, Lara McDonnell, Gerard Horan, Turlough Convery, Gerard McCarthy, Bríd Brennan, Sid Sagar, Colin Morgan, Olive Tennant, Vanessa Ifediora
IHBM8.5Excellent
Buddy is a young boy on the cusp of adolescence, whose life is filled with familial love, childhood hijinks, and a blossoming romance. Yet, with his beloved hometown caught up in increasing turmoil, his family faces a momentous choice: hope the conflict will pass or leave everything they know behind for a new life.
My review · Reviewed 12/11/2021
I think this movie did something that was really unique. This movie could have easily expanded on the battle between the Catholics and the Protestants and become a three hour epic. Instead, the director kept the story smaller in scale and thus kept the focus on the main characters and the city itself. I don't know Branagh that well but I was extremely impressed by his direction in this movie. The decision to film in black and white was excellent. I loved how Branagh worked in Van Morrison and Western movies to accentuate the story. Also, I think the closeups on the main characters really helped us to sympathize with that they were going through. This film might not be in my top five for the year but it would certainly be in the top ten.