[Movie 249 / Day 261]
Based on Martin McGartland’s true story of IRA infiltration in the turmoil of 1980s Ireland. In the late 80s, McGartland (Jim Sturgess) was on the fringes of the IRA, trying to eke a living by selling stolen clothing out of a suitcase. He was then recruited by the British police, in particular by handler Fergus (Ben Kingsley), in the late 80s to work his way deeper into the IRA. As he became more trusted, he was able to pass information onto Fergus that resulted in saving an estimated 50 lives.
Unfortunately, he was eventually uncovered and tortured for information before being rescued and put into the witness protection programme. According to the movie, he hasn’t seen his family since then and, despite changing his location and name monthly, has still been targetted by IRA hitmen as recently as 2001.
It’s pretty bleak stuff, but well acted (apart from a couple of slightly dodgy Northern Irish accents), especially by Kingsley who is just excellent. ‘Enjoyed’ isn’t quite the right word for this movie, but it was very interesting. I can’t see myself ever wanting to watch it again though.
My Rating: 
[ IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10 | IMDB link | Running time: 117 mins ]
