If it was a piece of fiction, they'd say that it could never happen. Bloody Sunday is a dramatisation of one of the most shameful episodes in recent British history. Released to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Derry civil rights march and also the re-opening of enquiries into what really happened, the film is one of the most incisive, explosive works ever to emerge from British cinema. The premise is simple--to follow what took place in the city on 30th January 1972, when an anti-internment march descended into violence and left 13 unarmed civilians dead at the hands of the British army.
Abandoning traditional filmmaking methods in favour of a more documentary style, Bloody Sunday is frighteningly realistic, especially when detailing the chaos into which the peaceful demonstration descended. Those who are only familiar with James Nesbitt through his lighter work (Cold Feet for example) may find this something of a shock, but he excels in the role of local politician Ivan Cooper. Admittedly there is a danger in presenting historical facts in a dramatic manner, no matter how painstaking the research, even though much of the dialogue here is taken straight from testimony and actual military transcripts. But if any question of bias arises, it's worth remembering that this film was written and directed by an Englishman, stars a Derry protestant as well as a young man whose uncle was killed during the march, and was produced as an Anglo-Irish project. The result is an unforgettable and unflinching piece of cinema not to be missed.
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