VERONICA GUERIN (2003)
Plot:
VERONICA GUERIN, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joel Schumacher, is the true story of the tenacious Irish crime reporter (Cate Blanchett) who exposed the brutal drug trade in 1990s Dublin. Veronica Guerin's intense dedication to her journalism, reckless hunger for the truth, and profound sense of social responsibility is grippingly portrayed by Blanchett in a magnetic performance.
Told in flashback, the film begins at the moment of her brutal assassination in 1996 and moves backwards, telling the story of the last two years of her life. A competitive journalist with no drug background, Veronica started her fierce campaign against Dublin's drug trade after witnessing young children playing with hypodermic needles in the city's slums. At that moment she started interviewing addicts and small-time thugs and what she discovered eventually led her into a fiercely protected inner circle of drug kingpins, controlled by the viciously powerful John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley). What began as a search for a story became Veronica's obsession. Her quest overshadowed her duties as a wife and mother and eventually threatened the lives of her husband and child. Heroic yet reckless, she persevered, and after threats and violent beatings she was assassinated by the very gangsters she threatened to expose.
Cast/Crew:
Written by: Carol Doyle (story) Carol Doyle (screenplay) and Mary Agnes Donoghue (screenplay)
Directed by: Joel Schumacher
Starring:
Cate Blanchett .... Veronica Guerin
Gerard McSorley .... John Gilligan
Ciarán Hinds .... John Traynor
Brenda Fricker .... Bernie Guerin
Don Wycherley .... Chris Mulligan
Colin Farrell .... Tattooed Boy
Notes:
Composer Harry Gregson-Williams heard a boy (Brian O'Donnell) singing on the street for money in Dublin when he arrived to spend a few days on the set of the film. Later, he tracked the boy down again and recorded him singing six or seven folk songs a capella in a quiet alley. Gregson-Williams chose "Fields of Athenry" from the recording and added his own music around the song for the moving scene following Veronica's death.
Official Veronica Guerin Website
Reviews:
Seemingly content to seesaw between vapid commercial fare and grittier personal projects, director Joel Schumacher follows the spy game misfire Bad Company with a heartfelt salute to a true-life heroine. The story of a fearless Irish journalist's crusade against the evils of the drug trade, Veronica Guerin covers very similar territory to John Mackenzie's fictionalised, little seen When The Sky Falls (2000) starring Joan Allen. Schumacher's more glossy, polished and emotionally charged approach results in a solid, tightly-paced, middle-range drama that will prove a real test of Cate Blanchett's appeal. Charlotte Gray and Heaven have already indicated that while she is critically admired, she has yet to consolidate her drawing power which means international returns could be decent but not spectacular. The film's opening weekend in Ireland delivered an extremely impressive $443,713 (including previews) from 53 sites. It opens on the UK on August 1 and October 17 in the US.
Portrayed as a mixture of Erin Brockovich bloodhound and Gary Cooper-style lone wolf martyr, Veronica Guerin risked life and limb to expose the drug dealers who poisoned the streets of Dublin in the 1990s. Reckless and unrelenting, she paid for her tenacity in blood. The film begins in June 1996 when she was gunned down and covers the final two years of her life when the quest for the truth became an all-consuming obsession.
Proceeding with the purpose and pace of a thriller, the film sketches in the factors that fuelled her stubborn determination to prove her journalistic worth and tackle the soaring drug trade. Although it approaches her life from a position of admiration, it is not uncritical. This is a woman who neglected her family, suffered the scorn of fellow journalists who considered her a glory-seeking dilettante and could be easily manipulated by those keen to point her in the wrong direction. Roguish gangland figure The Trainer (Ciaran Hinds) appears to supply her with vital information whilst constantly covering the tracks of violent, volatile drug baron Gilligan (McSorley). The Trainer even organises the first, botched attempt on her life.
An exciting and absorbing story, especially to those unfamiliar with the events or the earlier Mackenzie film, Veronica Guerin is perhaps a little too keen to maintain its forward momentum. A longer running time might have allowed for some more reflective passages or a deeper insight into issues that nag at the fringes at the story, particularly Guerin's flagrant and foolish disregard for the safety of her loved ones.
Schumacher takes a relatively restrained approach to potentially melodramatic material and scenes in which Guerin is unswayed by bribes or beatings make a considerable impact. There is also an absence of the typical bombast associated with a Jerry Bruckheimer production until the heart-tugging overkill of the final scenes covering Guerin's death and its wide-ranging repercussions.
A well-chosen ensemble cast includes a fiercesome turn from McSorley as Guerin's foul-mouthed nemesis and some touching scenes with Brenda Fricker as Guerin's mother. There is also a one-scene appearance from Schumacher protege Colin Farrell as a flirtatious football fan. The heart and soul of the production remains Blanchett's multi-faceted performance. Her Irish accent is impeccable and she paints a fully rounded portrait of Guerin's blazing intelligence, irrepressible spirit, fatal naivety and sheer terror as she realises that luck and brass neck will not protect her from retribution. There is a vivacity and ease in the precious moments with her family and an awareness of the way she uses her feminine wiles to advantage in dealing with cops and criminals alike. It is a persuasive, captivating performance that honours a woman whose foolhardiness risks becoming unsympathetic.
Trailers:
- Windows Media Player [HIGH]
- Windows Media player [LOW]
Release Date: 16 Mar 2005