MICHAEL COLLINS. Directed and written by Neil Jordan; produced by Stephen Woolley for Warner Bros. Starring Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Alan Rickman and Julia Roberts. Rated R (language, violence)
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Michael Collins is one of those old-fashioned historical movies that looks so good, and plays so good, that, for most of the audience at least, it really doesn't matter how much of it is true.
There is apparently no small amount of controversy surrounding the film, with people from Great Britain, and from different factions in Ireland, saying that the film demonizes some characters inaccurately and "hero-izes" others extravagantly. I say that unless you have a particular stake in Irish history or politics, don't listen to any of them.
Michael Collins is a hugely entertaining movie, with great acting (from ALMOST everyone in the cast) and a compelling story. That's all I'm after on an autumn afternoon.
Collins is the hero of Ireland's final war of independence from Britain, in the 'teens and 'twenties. Or he's the inventor of terrorism, depending upon who you listen to. Actually, it seems, he was both. What he also is, here at least, is a wonderfully complex and appealing character who masterminded a guerrilla war and then lost his life while working for peace.
In spite of the horrible crimes committed by his "boys," it's hard to be as repelled by them as one might expect. For one thing, it's almost impossible not to like Neeson, and he's in fine form here. But the script is also very careful to communicate Collins' anguish over the bloodshed. Neeson makes the anguish believable and so we can't really condemn it.
The plot involves some pretty murky and, at least for the non-Irish or non-historian, obscure political intrigues among Collins, his good friend Harry Boland (Quinn) and his mentor Eamon De Valera (Rickman), who was later president of the Irish Republic. But writer/director Jordan keeps things moving, and understandable, with help from his talented cast.
The only weak link among the players is Roberts, who, I guess, will always be Julia Roberts no matter who she tries to play. I mean, I've seen those other three guys in lots of other movies, but I completely forget about Die Hard and Robin Hood when I see Rickman as De Valera, about Schindler's List and Darkman when Neeson appears as Collins, and about Legends of the Fall and Blink when I watch Quinn here.
Now, to be completely fair, the otherwise excellent script doesn't help Roberts out much, not really filling out her character. All we know about her is how she feels about Boland and Collins, who are both in love with her (this triangle is apparently historically accurate, by the way).
With all the great events going on around her, I'm sure she had some other feelings, but either because Jordan didn't write them for her, or because Roberts can't convey them, she remains the only uninteresting character in the movie.
But that's not enough, nor is the curiously (for a movie about Ireland) disappointing musical score, enough to keep you from seeing Michael Collins. You'll probably learn something, and you'll enjoy doing it.
November 13, 1996