The Devil's Own (1997)
Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.
- Alan J. Pakula
- Peter Kohn
- John Rusk
- Robin Squibb
- David R. Ellis
- David Aaron Cohen
- Kevin Jarre
- Vincent Patrick
- Kevin Jarre
Rating: 6.2/10 by 1206 users
Alternative Title:
Anjel s dvoma tvárami - SK
Tichý nepriateľ - SK
La Rage au cœur - CA
La Rage au coeur - FR
Enemigo Intimo - CO
Country:
United States of America
Language:
English
Runtime: 01 hour 47 minutes
Budget: $90,000,000
Revenue: $140,807,547
Plot Keyword: new york city, assassin, anonymity, showdown, chase, politics, northern ireland, revenge, terrorism, ira (irish republican army), tragic event
On the face of it, two A-list men at the top of the bill should have made this compelling, but sadly what we get is a rather lacklustre thriller that is positively lacking in thrills! The story centres around police officer "O'Meara" (Harrison Ford) who takes in an Irish lodger "Devaney" (Brad Pitt and his hilarious Irish accent). From the outset, we are aware that the lodger is really an IRA terrorist who is hiding out under an assumed name, and gradually his host begins to suspect that all is not what is seems. What now ensues is a really rather poorly constructed story that leaves breadcrumbs for us all to follow to an ending that though taut at times along the way, is really nothing very interesting. As a Brit, I've always found these intrigue films that portray terrorists as glorified freedom fighters a bit tough to stomach and the narrative here plays to just about every dumb stereotype imaginable. There is precious little by way of action and the pace sort of lumbers along with little to engage the little grey cells. The plot is overly simplistic and from a political perspective, totally one-sided and that renders the whole thing little better than an hollow outing for both. Though Pitt is at his most eye-catching, this is nothing at all to write home about and offers us little of meaning to help comprehend the complexities of the true problems on the island of Ireland.
