Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Bloody Sunday
2002
****
Director: Paul Greengrass
Cast: James Nesbitt, Simon Mann, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicholas Farrell, Allan Gildea, Gerard Crossan, Mary Moulds, Carmel McCallion

Paul Greengrass made his name with this docudrama about the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry, Northern Ireland. On 30 January 1972 a large group of civil rights protesters, lead by an idealistic MP Ivan Cooper, stage a peaceful march, while the British Army has the Parachute Regiment on standby in case troubles break out. When a handful of teenagers break off from the march, things get out of hand, and 13 unarmed civilians end up dead. Greengrass puts his handheld camera in the thick of things. He builds an increasing sense of foreboding which eventually explodes into riveting drama when the shooting starts. These scenes capture the chaos and madness of the tragedy with gut wrenching verisimilitude.