Michael Collins

Like many such epics, _Michael Collins_ is melodramatic and partial, about a past all too present. But much of the critical hostility it received/s is for offending popular pieties, imperial or republican, no less prejudiced. Jordan wrestled with historiography and moral complexity in writing his screenplay. He understood that any historical account involves selection and even distortion, not least to persuade producers and sell tickets. Ultimately, however, the period and place are too complex for Jordan to explain or Collins to contain: its violence is too roughly contextualized, its…

The end of the Great War profoundly changed the dynamic of Irish politics and saw an empowerment of it's independence movement. Back at the start of the 1920s, though, they had little chance against the battle hardened British troops stationed in a nation that was by no means entirely convinced of the merits of a free Ireland. Then along comes the far more subtle Michael Collins (Liam Neeson) who realises that head-to-head battles will only see their numbers eradicated and the collateral damage to the population impact on their cause, too - so he concludes a more strategic plan that targets…