Critic Reviews
84
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
positive
14(88%)
mixed
2(13%)
negative
0(0%)
Showing 16 Critic Reviews
100
For in relating the true story of Conlon's wrongful conviction and 15-year imprisonment, Sheridan has used the tools of the filmmaker to evoke a visceral echo of Conlon's waking nightmare.
100
Jim Sheridan skillfully interweaves a myriad of subplots and themes into a fast-paced, cohesive whole.
100
But the filmmakers have invigorated and enriched the story through the use of a thousand details, a strong sense of time and place, outstanding characterizations and a display of energy and cinematic flair that marks an advance on "My Left Foot."
91
Sheridan, however, works with such piercing fervor and intelligence that In the Name of the Father just about transcends its tidy moral design.
90
And, riskiest of all, the film makers eschewed another grainy documentary go at the subject in favor of a movie drama of one of the most compelling true stories of the modern troubles.
90
In the Name of the Father is as good a compromise of fact and fiction as you could hope for -- and still call it a movie.
90
The picture turns into a kind of stylized morality play about the right and the wrong ways for Irishmen to respond to distorted portraits of their character, and it's terrifically effective.
90
Sheridan and colleagues understood their chief problem: how to sustain interest in a story that was well-known in advance, not a large historical subject with its own prestige but a news story now dated. So they concentrated on character and on acid irony. [03 Jan 1994 Pg. 28]
88
Though the facts have been manipulated in the interests of drama--Gerry and Giuseppe were never imprisoned together, etc.--this has been done in a brave and responsible way, shedding light on an important episode in recent history.
80
But the acting's so good it frequently transcends the simplicities of the script, and whenever Day-Lewis or Postlethwaite is on-screen the movie crackles.
