Fifty Dead Men Walking

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Fifty Dead Men Walking
50deadmenwalkingr.jpg
US poster
Directed by Kari Skogland
Produced by Kari Skogland
Stephen Hegyes
Peter La Terriere
Shawn Williamson
Written by Kari Skogland
Starring Jim Sturgess
Ben Kingsley
Rose McGowan
Kevin Zegers
Cinematography Jonathan Freeman
Distributed by Brightlight Pictures
Handmade Films
Release dates
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  • September 10, 2008 (2008-09-10) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • April 10, 2009 (2009-04-10) (United Kingdom)
  • July 31, 2009 (2009-07-31) (Canada)
Running time
 117 minutes
Country United Kingdom
Canada
Language English
Budget £6,000,000

Fifty Dead Men Walking is a 2008 English-language crime thriller film written and directed by Kari Skogland. It is a loose adaptation of Martin McGartland's 1997 autobiography of the same name. It premiered in September 2008, and stars Jim Sturgess as Martin McGartland, a British agent who went undercover into the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and Ben Kingsley as Fergus, his British handler.

The film is set from 1988 until 1991, the time in which McGartland acted as an undercover agent within the IRA during The Troubles. In 1991, his cover was blown and he was kidnapped by the IRA, although he later escaped from an interrogation and execution, and went into hiding.

At the time of the release of the film, McGartland was still in hiding. The film takes its name from McGartland's claim within his book to have saved the lives of fifty people (police officers, soldiers, and prison guards) during his time as an agent.[1]

McGartland disowned the film as was reported in the Sunday Times on 29 March 2009. He told the Sunday Times that "they are saying it was based on a true story, but what is the definition of 'based on a true story'? Is it 50% true, 70% true, 10%?" The Sunday Times further reported that McGartland contended "that the movie is fundamentally a lie that misrepresents his career and his motivation. He believes that if Kari Skogland, the director, had stuck closer to the account he gave in his book and in a BBC documentary, then she would have had a better film."[2]

Plot

Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess) is a 21-year-old street hustler from Northern Ireland, living in the late 1980s. The Irish Republican Army wants to recruit him, but he is reluctant because of what he sees as their cruel street justice. Because of his connection to the community, the British police want him to infiltrate and spy on the IRA. Marty agrees because of the car and money he gets from the police and because he despises the IRA. The IRA accepts him as a Volunteer and in that position he learns of various planned attacks. He then informs Fergus, his police contact, to prevent these attacks. He builds up a new sense of self-esteem, but he cannot tell his family and friends about his activities. Even his new girlfriend Lara (Natalie Press) only notices that he seems to do some work for the IRA, which worries her.

All along, the British accept the risk that the IRA may discover that Marty works for them. They do not plan to rescue him in that case. When it happens, the IRA capture and torture Marty, but he manages to escape by throwing himself out of a window. His handler Fergus is now his only ally—he finds him and helps him hide. Fergus offers to arrange for Marty and Lara and their children to live in Scotland but Marty realises that she would never be able to feel safe. He then goes on the run to Canada alone, leaving his family behind. As shown at the start of the film, he is shot there by the IRA and survives.

Cast

Release

File:KariSkogland08TIFF.jpg
Kari Skogland at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival

The film premiered[3] on 4 September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.[4] The UK premiere was held on 4 April 2009 in Belfast, where the film was shot. Sturgess was unable to attend, as was Kingsley, who recorded a video message for the audience. Phoenix23, the Belfast band who recorded three tracks for the soundtrack; "Hit the Ground Running", "Its a Blast" and "Hurricane" were in attendance. The film went on general release in the UK on 10 April 2009.

Critical reception

Roger Ebert gave Fifty Dead Men Walking three out of four stars.[5] Empire Magazine awarded the film three out of five stars and praised Sturgess' performance, although they noted that "some stylistic slip-ups let him down a little."[6] The Guardian awarded the film three out of five stars and said "producer-director Kari Skogland has put together an effective, if cinematically unambitious, enterprise."[7]

Recognition

On the basis of Canadian involvement in its financing, Fifty Dead Men Walking was nominated for Best Canadian Film at the 30th Genie Awards in 2010.[8] The film won several awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay at the Genie Awards and Best Feature Length Drama at the Leo Awards.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ times on line
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Roger Ebert review
  6. ↑ Empire review
  7. ↑ The Guardian review
  8. ↑ Genie Award
  9. ↑ Fifty Dead Men Walking, awards at IMDb

External links

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