Not Quite Ireland's Own

27 April 1997

"The Devil's Own" has been showing now for over a month, so I guess it's safe enough to write this opinion. If you haven't seen it yet, and plan to, then don't read any further, as this article contains spoilers.

"The Devil's Own" is the story of Frankie Maguire -Brad Pitt- an IRA man in New York to buy Stinger missiles. Frankie stays with the Irish-American family of NYPD Sgt. Tom O'Meara -Harrison Ford- who are unaware of his identity, believing him to be just another young fella -Rory Devaney- over to work in construction.

The story revolves around Frankie's gun dealing activities, Tom O'Meara's growing friendship with him, and O'Meara's efforts to bring him in alive, once he discovers the truth.

Watching a film like this, with an element of Irish background, which means I can relate to it on more than one level, several things always strike me.

On a general level, if this film had been set, say in the mid-eighties, starred Danny Glover and Denzel Washington, and told the story of an ANC member in the US buying arms, all of the picky things that I notice, like the oversimplified politics and the dodgy accents, would have gone completely over my head.

On a more specific level, there's no real reason to complain about Brad Pitt's 'Irish' accent. After hearing Tom Cruise in 'Far & Away', we should be thankful for anything we get. Pitt himself was well aware of his shortcomings in that department.

In one interview, he explained how he'd met up with some friends while working on the film.

"They asked me what I was up to, and I told them
'Oh, Uv bin wurkin' aun mo Bel-fossed ock-sint.'
'Okay then', they said, 'Lets hear it'."

There is one totally true moment in "The Devil's Own". Frankie has just arrived at O'Meara's house, and everyone sits down to dinner. Beaming proudly the hostess passes Frankie his meal. Looking at it disdainfully, Frankie asks what it is.

"Corned Beef & Cabbage", replies the puzzled Mrs. O'Meara, "I made it specially. Don't you eat it all the time?"

"I've never seen it before in my life."

A considerable part of the first half of The Devil's Own is devoted to showing the growing bond between O'Meara and Maguire. Perhaps the most effective scene in this respect is where O'Meara describes an incident where his partner shot and killed a fleeing suspect. He goes on to explain that, in twenty-three years as a policeman, he has drawn his gun only three times, and never fired it. Sickened by the thought of killing someone, O'Meara gets out of the car to throw up. When he gets back in, Maguire begins to say something, but then changes his mind, leaving the possibility that he was going to spill his guts emotionally.

Several parts in the film were simply surreal however, the most noticeable being the portrayal of arms dealer Billy Burke by Treat Williams (Ice-T in my Glover/Washington remake?)

No-one could be that thick, but he is, due to plot demands. There's also an SAS/MI5 type Britisher floating around in the background, who is on-screen for about two minutes in total, and who could have been edited out completely without any lasting damage to the plot.

Here's where I give away the ending, so consider yourself warned.

Just once I'd like to see a Hollywood effort where the bad guy is simply arrested, rather than killed. For a second, I thought this was to be that movie, but it was not to be.

Sgt Tom O'Meara tracks down Frankie to the boat he is using to smuggle the Stinger missiles, to Ireland, they exchange gunfire, and O'Meara is wounded. Frankie stands over him, and the camera closes in his hand, pointing a gun at O'Meara. Instead of squeezing the trigger to finish O'Meara off however, his hand quivers, and he collapses.

At this point I thought back to the scene where O'Meara threw up at the thought of shooting someone, and felt that Frankie was now mirroring that same reaction.

I thought the writers had done something unusual and interesting, like having Frankie unable to pull the trigger because, for the first time in his life, he knew the person at the other end.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Frankie collapsed because he had a bullet wound, not an epiphany.

I still think my ending would have been better.