Black 47 (15A) ***
Set during the worst year of The Famine in 1847, James Frecheville plays Feeney, a tough and highly skilled soldier who has been hardened by fighting for the English overseas.
Returning to his family home in the West of Ireland, Feeney (James Frecheville) is shocked to discover the scale of suffering both The Great Hunger and the presence of English landlords have caused. Devastated by personal loss and a sense of injustice, he embarks on a one-man vendetta.
War has made him good at killing and evading the authorities, and his terrified adversaries task a group of men with stopping him.
The group is led by Hannah (an excellent Hugo Weaving), a top soldier and skilled tracker, who in the past fought alongside Feeney and knows what he’s capable of.
What emerges is a type of revenge western we’re used to seeing from other cultures but not our own, and there are some emotional scenes - the sight of an armed guard protecting a large amount of grain will surely rankle.
There are some issues with pacing, while visually the movie is not quite the epic tale a story like this deserves, but even when it wobbles Black 47 is never less than engaging, while there are some moments of real potency and power.
Director Lance Daly’s biggest asset is his cast, who deliver fine performances in ensemble roles.
American Animals (15A) ****
Mixing the actors with the real characters they play in this pulpy, clever thriller, filmmaker Bart Layton proves that his last film, the excellent The Imposter, was no one-off.
The movie tells the story of the Kentucky Book Thieves, four young men who attempted to pull off the theft of valuable books and works of art housed in their local college library.
It effortlessly moves gears between outrageously funny and poignant and is a lot more than a movie about a daylight robbery.
It also cleverly gives multiple accounts of what happened from the views of the characters involved, keeping you guessing throughout. In a film packed with fine performances, our own Barry Keoghan is a standout.
