This political /crime drama is set in 1990s Belfast, and when Colette McVeigh an active member of the IRA is caught red-handed planting a bomb at an London Underground Station she is ‘persuaded’ to become an informant for the MI5 in order not just to remain free but to protect her young son’s welfare. Her whole family is very involved in terrorist activities and when the authorities ambush one of their operations they suspect a traitor in their midst and Colette senses she is in real danger. But in this fast-paced well-written thriller there is a rather inspired twist in the plot which sets this above most movies in this genre.

American viewers often struggle understanding even the most straight forward English accents so I’m not sure how on earth they are going to cope with this movie which is a narrative about ‘The Troubles‘ (the term used for the IRA’s armed uprising in Northern Ireland) where most of the characters speak with thick Ulster brogues. This new movie also seemed an odd choice for director James Marsh who picked up an Oscar in 2009 for ‘Man On A Wire’ (which he followed with the chimp movie ‘Project Nim’.)

Clive Owen stars as a British Secret Service Agent, and UK based American Gillian Anderson is his boss, and luckily for us they don’t have to attempt accents.  Andrea Riseborough plays Colette rather stunningly, so luckily for her there is life after starring in Madonna’s heavily panned ‘W/E’.  Accents aside it’s a rather good nerve-racking yarn, and well worth seeing.

P.S. Reprinted from my SUNDANCE 2012 BLOG as the movie is now showing in US theaters.

★★★★★★★★