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Michael Collins (film)

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Michael Collins
Theatrical release poster
Directed byNeil Jordan
Written byNeil Jordan
Produced byStephen Woolley
Starring
CinematographyChris Menges
Edited by
  • J. Patrick Duffner
  • Tony Lawson
Music byElliot Goldenthal
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release dates
  • 28 August 1996 (1996-08-28) (VIFF)
  • 11 October 1996 (1996-10-11) (USA)
Running time
132 minutes[1]
CountriesIreland
United Kingdom
United States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$25 million[2]
Box office$27.5 million[3]

Michael Collins is a 1996 biographical period drama film written and directed by Neil Jordan and starring Liam Neeson as the Irish revolutionary, soldier and politician Michael Collins, who was a leading figure in the early-20th-century Irish struggle for independence. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival[4] and was also nominated for Best Original Score and Best Cinematography at the 69th Academy Awards.

Plot

At the close of the Easter Rising in 1916, the besieged Irish rebels surrender to the British Army at the Irish Republican headquarters in Dublin. Several key figures of the Rising, including Patrick Pearse, Thomas MacDonagh, Tom Clarke and James Connolly, are executed. Éamon de Valera is spared execution due to his American citizenship, but is imprisoned alongside Michael Collins and Harry Boland.

The 1918 Irish general election results in the victorious Sinn Féin party unilaterally declaring Irish independence and in so doing beginning the Irish War of Independence. De Valera is elected President and Collins is appointed Director of Intelligence for the emerging IRA. Ned Broy, officially a member of the loyalist G Division sympathises with the independence cause and tips Collins off that the Castle intends to arrest the entire Cabinet that evening. De Valera, sensing that the arrest will spark an international outcry, dissuades his cabinet from going into hiding and persuades them to allow their arrests to take place. Collins and Boland evade arrest, though there is no response to the wider action.

As the last senior leader still free, Collins begins a counter-intelligence campaign with help from Broy. Numerous assassinations of agents and Irish collaborators are carried out by the IRA's Dublin Brigade. De Valera soon breaks out of Lincoln Prison, but announces on his return to Ireland that he will go to the United States to seek President Woodrow Wilson's official recognition of the Irish Republic. The war continues to intensify; the British assign SIS Officer Soames to counter the IRA, though he and several of his agents are assassinated in an attack orchestrated by Collins. To retaliate, the Black and Tans are sent to Dublin to brutally suppress unarmed civilians in support of independence, culminating in a massacre at Croke Park, in which 14 people are killed during a peaceful Gaelic football game. Broy's assistance to Collins is also discovered by Soames, who subsequently has Broy tortured and killed.

De Valera returns from America having been unable to secure President Wilson's support. The British hint at direct communication with the Irish, though Collins' guerilla campaign has boded poorly for Ireland's image. De Valera therefore decrees that the IRA must fight as a conventional army, though Collins knows that this will just lead to another defeat against the might of the British Empire. Adamant in his approach to securing peace, de Valera orders an attack on The Custom House, but the IRA suffers heavy casualties and the attack fails catastrophically. Despite the desperate situation the IRA now finds itself in, the British unexpectedly call for a ceasefire.

Collins is sent to London to negotiate Irish interests as part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which is signed in 1921. Though the Republic is not immediately granted independence, the treaty enables Ireland to achieve it over time while remaining a British dominion during the interim as well as losing six of the nine Ulster counties, which will remain in the UK. De Valera, who sought unconditional independence for Ireland, is furious upon learning of this and he and his supporters, including Boland, resign in protest. The subsequent people's vote backs the terms of the treaty, but de Valera rejects the result and in 1922 leads a seizure of the Four Courts in Dublin. The IRA, led by Collins, is ordered to retake it. In the subsequent Battle of Dublin, Boland is killed.

Devastated upon learning of his friend's death, Collins journeys to West Cork, where de Valera is in hiding, to mediate peace. Collins, however, is misdirected by de Valera's associates and is led into an ambush in which he is shot and killed. Kitty Kiernan, Collins' love interest, is informed of his death just as she tries on a wedding gown.

Cast

Production

Michael Cimino wrote a script and was involved in pre-production work on a possible Collins film for over a year in the early 1990s, with Gabriel Byrne marked down to star. However, Cimino was fired over budget concerns. Neil Jordan mentions in his film diary that Kevin Costner had also been interested in developing a movie about Collins and had visited Béal na Bláth and the surrounding areas.[5]

The eventual film was scripted and directed by Neil Jordan and was an international co-production between companies in Ireland and the United States.[6] With a budget estimated at $25 million, with 10%-12% from the Irish Film Board, it was one of the most expensive films ever produced in Ireland.[2] While filming, the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire caused the film's release to be delayed from June to December. It also led to Warner Bros. executive Rob Friedman pressurising the director to reshoot the ending to focus on the love story between Collins and Kiernan, in an attempt to downplay the breakdown of Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.[2]

A number of Irish actors auditioned for the part of de Valera but Jordan felt they were performing a stereotype of de Valera rather than finding his true character. Jordan discussed the role with John Turturro before casting Alan Rickman. Jordan initially envisioned Stephen Rea playing Harry Boland, but then decided the role of Broy would give Rea more of a challenge. Matt Dillon and Adam Baldwin also auditioned for the role.[5] Aengus O'Malley, a great grandnephew of Michael Collins, played the role of a student filmed in Marsh's Library.

Historicity

Although based on historical events, the film contains some alterations and fictionalisations, such as the dramatised circumstances of Harry Boland's death and Ned Broy's fate, as well as significant alterations to the formative years of Dáil Éireann and the prelude to the events of Bloody Sunday at Croke Park. Neil Jordan defended his film by saying that it could not provide an entirely accurate account of events since it was a two-hour film that had to be understandable to an international audience that would not know the minutiae of Irish history.[7] The documentary on the DVD release of the film also discusses its fictional aspects.

The critic Roger Ebert referred to the closing quotation from de Valera that history would vindicate Collins at his own expense by writing that "even Dev could hardly have imagined this film biography of Collins, which portrays De Valera as a weak, mannered, sniveling prima donna whose grandstanding led to decades of unnecessary bloodshed in, and over, Ireland."[8]

According to Alan Rickman, in the script there was a scene which made it clear that his character was not involved in the death of Michael Collins. However, this was cut (either by the director or the studio) in order to focus on a more romantic rather than political ending.[9] Jordan has said that he never intended to indicate that de Valera had a hand in the assassination and has called the film's portrayal of de Valera "unfair".[10]

Boland did not die in the manner suggested by the film. He was shot in a skirmish with Irish Free State soldiers in The Grand Hotel, Skerries, County Dublin, in the aftermath of the Battle of Dublin. The hotel has since been demolished, but a plaque was put where the building used to be. His last words in the film ("Have they got Mick Collins yet?") are based on a well-known tradition.[11]

Soundtrack

The score was written by acclaimed composer Elliot Goldenthal, and features performances by Sinéad O'Connor. Frank Patterson also performs with the Cafe Orchestra in the film and on the album.

Ratings

The Irish Film Censor initially intended to give the film an over-15 certificate, but later decided that it should be released with a PG certificate because of its historical importance. The censor issued a press statement defending his decision, claiming the film was a landmark in Irish cinema and that "because of the subject matter, parents should have the option of making their own decision as to whether their children should see the film or not".[6] The video release was given a 12 certificate.

The film was rated 15 in the United Kingdom by the British Board of Film Classification.[12]

The film was rated R in the United States by the Motion Picture Association of America.

Reception

Box office

Michael Collins opened in 6 theatres in the United States on 11 October 1996 and grossed $182,221 for the weekend. It expanded to 748 theatres two weeks later grossing $2,409,761 for the weekend. It went on to gross $11 million in the United States and Canada.[13] The film opened on 8 November 1996 in the UK and Ireland in 247 theatres and opened at number one at the box office with an opening weekend gross of £1,160,575, including £68,975 from previews in 45 theatres. The opening gross also included £442,867 from the Republic of Ireland, which was a record opening for the country.[14][15] The film went on to gross over £6.5 million in the UK and Ireland.[16] It became the highest-grossing film ever in Ireland, surpassing Jurassic Park, grossing IR£4.27 million ($6.7 million).[17] In 2000, it was second only to Titanic in this category.[6]

Critical response

The film received generally positive reviews from critics, but was criticised by some for its historical inaccuracies.[18] On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 78% based on 49 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's consensus states: "As impressively ambitious as it is satisfyingly impactful, Michael Collins honors its subject's remarkable achievements with a magnetic performance from Liam Neeson in the title role."[19] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 60 out of 100 based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[21]

Irish journalist Kevin Myers, who is known for his criticism of physical force Irish republicanism, praised the film in his Irish Times column, writing, "I think it is magnificent. I was unable to leave the cinema at its end, so profoundly moved and saddened was I; and I can understand why Neil Jordan has been so personally offended by criticism of the film in Ireland and in Britain. It is a film which shows his passionate commitment to the subject, to the film, to Ireland, and, I believe, to peace."[22] Geoff Andrew, writing in Time Out, said, "This is Jordan's most ambitious and satisfying movie - a thriller with a real sense of scale, pace, menace and moral import."[23]

In Variety, the film was described as "Staggeringly well-made... a film of tremendous action, incident and momentum."[24] Ian Nathan of Empire awarded the film four stars out of five, and described it as a "mature, passionate biography of the tragic Irish evolutionary [which] takes a considered, intelligent stance."[25] Roger Ebert gave the film three stars out of four.[8]

Irish writer Graham Linehan gave the film a positive review in the British film magazine Neon, and said, "If you’re Irish, the film obviously carries a huge emotional punch. But if you’re British, and you have even an iota of interest in a country that, after all, is RIGHT BESIDE YOU, then I suggest you toddle along."[26]

Accolades

References

  1. ^ "MICHAEL COLLINS". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c Goldstone, Patricia. Making the world safe for tourism, Yale University Press, 2001. p. 139 ISBN 0-300-08763-2
  3. ^ "Michael Collins (1996) - Financial Information". The-numbers.com. Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  4. ^ "The awards of the Venice Film Festival". Labiennale.org. Archived from the original on 14 February 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  5. ^ a b Neil Jordan, Michael Collins, Plume Press, 1996 ISBN 0-452-27686-1
  6. ^ a b c "Between Irish National Cinema and Hollywood: Neil Jordan's Michael Collins" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
  7. ^ "Michael Collins", The South Bank Show, 27 October 1996.
  8. ^ a b Ebert, Roger (25 October 1996). "Michael Collins movie review & film summary (1996)". Chicago Sun Times. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  9. ^ "Acting Against Expectations", The Irish Times, 5 May 2001.
  10. ^ Meskill, Tommy (21 August 2022). "Film portrayal of de Valera 'unfair' - Neil Jordan". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  11. ^ Fitzpatrick, David. Harry Boland's Irish Revolution, Cork University Press. p. 8. ISBN 1-85918-222-4
  12. ^ "MICHAEL COLLINS | British Board of Film Classification". BBFC.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 August 2012. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  13. ^ Michael Collins at Box Office Mojo
  14. ^ "UK Top 15: November 8-10". Screen International. 15 November 1996. p. 31.
  15. ^ "£442,867 Biggest opening weekend in Eire movie history (advertisement)". Screen International. 15 November 1996. pp. 16–17.
  16. ^ "UK Top 15: January 3-5". Screen International. 10 January 1997. p. 51.
  17. ^ "Ireland flocks to the flicks". Screen International. 25 April 1997. p. 27.
  18. ^ Flynn, Roderick and Patrick Brereton. "Michael Collins", Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema, Scarecrow Press, 2007. Page 252. ISBN 978-0-8108-5557-1
  19. ^ "Michael Collins (1996)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 11 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Michael Collins". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  21. ^ "CinemaScore". CinemaScore. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2021. Each film's score can be accessed from the website's search bar.
  22. ^ Kevin Myers, From the Irish Times column An Irishman's Diary (Dublin: Four Courts, 2000), p. 41
  23. ^ Geoff Andrew, Time Out Film Guide (London: Time Out, 2009), p. 638
  24. ^ Variety Movie Guide 2001 (New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001), p. 553
  25. ^ Ian Nathan, Empire Film Guide (London: Virgin Books, 2007), p. 689
  26. ^ Scans of Neon magazine
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