Michael Collins is a 1996 historical biopic about General Michael Collins, the Irish patriot and revolutionary who died in the Irish Civil War. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.[1]
Plot
At the end of the Easter Rising, Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), and Éamon de Valera (Alan Rickman) surrender to the British Army. Although every other signatory of the Declaration of an Irish Republic is court martialed and shot, De Valera is spared as a U.S. citizen and interned in Wales with the others. After their release, Collins runs as a member of the illegal First Dáil. While giving a campaign speech, he is severely beaten by the Royal Irish Constabulary. While recovering, he meets Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts), who soon strikes up a relationship with Boland, though she and Collins become quite friendly with each other.
In 1918, Collins is tipped off by Ned Broy (Stephen Rea), a sympathiser in the Dublin Metropolitan Police, that the British plan to arrest de Valera and his Cabinet. However, de Valera forbids anyone to go into hiding, stating that the ensuing public outcry will force their immediate release. Everyone — except Collins and Boland — is arrested and imprisoned in England, and there are no protests in response.
With Collins left in undisputed command, the IRA begins raiding the barracks of the R.I.C. and D.M.P. to supply themselves with guns. He also issues a statement that all collaboration with the British will be punished by death without trial. Using information supplied by Broy, Collins declares war on British Intelligence-such as the infamous "G" Division of the DMP. On Bloody Sunday, his private death squad assassinates the British officers who make up the Cairo Gang. With their intelligence network destroyed, a combined force of the Black and Tans and the British Army retaliates by shooting up a Gaelic football match at Croke Park. In the aftermath, Boland and Collins travel to England and successfully break de Valera out of prison.
Enraged to realize that Collins has overshadowed him, de Valera declares, "We'll see who's the big fella." He travels to the United States in order to raise funds. He also hopes to gain support from President Woodrow Wilson. Hoping to keep Collins in line, he also orders Boland to accompany him. However, this cripples Collins' ability to wage war against the British. After returning without any tangible results, de Valera expresses his belief that the IRA must fight a conventional war — like the Easter Rising — by attacking Dublin's Customs House. The attack fails catastrophically, leaving six men dead and seventy captured. In the aftermath, Collins declares that the IRA can only hold out for another week. To his shock, however, the British soon call for a ceasefire.
Despite his protests, Collins is ordered to join the negotiating team by de Valera. After reading the terms of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, de Valera is enraged that he has not been consulted. Equally enraged, Collins accuses De Valera of deliberately trying to discredit him by sending him to the negotiatons in the first place. Meanwhile, the armed forces of the Irish Free State-under Collins's command- take over command of Dublin Castle as the Union Jack is lowered.
Despite de Valera's best efforts, the Dáil approves the Treaty by 64-57. In response, de Valera, Boland, and their supporters resign in protest. During a country-wide plebiscite over the Treaty, Collins makes speeches in support of the treaty, while de Valera rouses support against it and makes his infamous "Wading through Irish Blood" speech. {In an ironic parallel to Collins speech in the beginning of the movie where Collins is beaten up by the RIC, Collins is again assaulted and then almost nearly killed by anti-treaty protesters}. In the aftermath of the incident, Collins asks Kitty (who helped Collins's men rescue him) to marry him: she accepts.
In June 1922, the Irish people overwhelmingly vote to approve the Treaty. This, however, pushes the country into civil war. In the Battle of Dublin, the Anti-Treaty IRA is besieged inside the Four Courts and driven from the city. Harry Boland is fatally shot by Free State soldiers while trying to swim across the Liffey. Hoping to peacefully end the war, Collins travels home to County Cork. He reaches out to de Valera, asking for a meeting. While travelling to what he thinks is a peace conference, Collins is ambushed and shot in the head by an Anti-Treaty sniper. A devastated Kitty is informed of his death while trying on her wedding gown.
The film ends with a monotage of images from Michael Collins's funeral, accompanied by a eulogy commenting on his achievements and the fact he paradoxically died in an effort to remove the gun from Irish politics. It concludes with a quote taken from a 1966 speech of Eamon de Valera; "It is my considered opinion that in the fullness of time, history will record the greatness of Michael Collins, and it shall be forever recorded at my expense".
Cast
Production
The film was scripted and directed by Neil Jordan. The soundtrack was written by Elliot Goldenthal. The film was an international co-production between companies in Ireland and the USA.[3] It received generally positive reviews, but was mildly criticized for some historical inaccuracies.[4] With a budget estimated at between around $25 million, receiving 10% to 12% of its budget from the Irish Film Board, the film was one of the most expensive films ever produced in Ireland.[5] While still filming, the breakdown of the IRA ceasefire caused the film's release to be delayed from June to December which caused Warner Brothers executive Rob Friedman to pressure the director to reshoot the ending which focused on the love story between Collins and Kiernan in an attempt to downplay the breakdown of Anglo-Irish Treaty negotiations.[5]
Historical alterations
Although based on historical events, the film does contain some alterations and fictionalizations:
- In the scene in which Dáil Éireann is meeting in secret, Collins is referred to as the Minister for Intelligence. In fact, he was the Dáil Minister for Finance and the Director of Intelligence for the IRA; the roles had no formal link, and neither position had control over the other.
- Harry 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, North Co. Dublin during 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 however, based on a well-known tradition.[6]
- In the film, Collins heads the delegation to London that negotiates the Anglo-Irish Treaty; in reality, it was led by Arthur Griffith, with Collins as his deputy.
- The character of Edward "Ned" Broy of the Dublin Metropolitan Police is a composite of many different police officers. The real Broy was a member of G Division, an intelligence branch of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, based not in Dublin Castle - as in the film - but in Marlborough Street. Michael Collins' main agent in Dublin Castle was David Neligan. Like Broy, he also survived the conflict and later headed the Irish Special Branch. In the film the character is killed during Bloody Sunday.
- In the film Collins is told that Frank Thornton was shot in West Cork, a week before his own trip to Cork. Thornton however was wounded in an ambush outside Clonmel County Tipperary, a day before Collins himself was killed.
- The film is ambiguous in the scene involving Collins's assassination, only showing the assassin asking de Valera if he has a message for Collins. It then cuts to the assassin returning to meet Collins and telling him where de Valera will meet him the next day. Neil Jordan denies on the DVD documentary that it was his intention to portray De Valera having anything to do with Collins' murder.
- In the scene depicting the events of Bloody Sunday, an armoured car drives onto the pitch at Croke Park and mows down GAA player Michael Hogan with its machine gun before firing into the crowd. In real life the armoured car remained outside the gates of Croke Park as it would not fit through the archway and it only fired warning shots in the air over the crowd fleeing from the initial shooting by a mixed group of Royal Irish Constabulary, Dublin Metropolitan Police, and Auxiliary Division officers, who were responsible for the twelve fatalities and numerous casualties in the grounds. On the DVD commentary, Neil Jordan said he could not figure out a way of showing the reality of the event without making the British Army look like "bad guys".
- The film depicts a carload of hardline northern unionist detectives sent to "deal" with Collins and the IRA being blown up in Dublin Castle. In fact, no killings of police took place in Dublin Castle and car-bombs were largely unknown at the time. Some commentators have contended that the filmmakers were trying to draw a connection between the Irish War of Independence and the later Troubles, when car-bombs were common. Neil Jordan has also denied this.
- In the movie, the surrender at the end of the Easter Rising appears to take place outside the General Post Office, whereas it actually took place on Moore Street.
- Collins says "I would have followed him through hell..." in reference to de Valera; in reality, he was referring to James Connolly, comparing him to Pádraig Pearse:
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- "Of Pearse and Connolly I admire the latter most. Connolly was a realist, Pearse the direct opposite ... I would have followed him [Connolly] through hell had such action been necessary. But I honestly doubt very much if I would have followed Pearse — not without some thought anyway."[7]
- A statement in the film that the Irish Free State was formed at the beginning of 1922, following the Dáil's approval of the Treaty, even though the Irish Free State did not officially come into being until December 1922.
Neil Jordan defended his film by saying that it could not provide an entirely accurate account of events, given that it was a two-hour film that had to be understandable to an international audience who would not know the minutiae of Irish history.[8] The documentary on the DVD release of the film also discusses its fictional aspects.
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".[3] The video release was, however, given a 12 certificate.
Reception
The film became the top grossing film ever in Ireland upon its release, making IR£ 4 million. In 2000 it was second only to Titanic in this category.[3]
References
- ^ The awards of the Venice Film Festival
- ^ a b c d Neil Jordan, "Michael Collins", Plume Press, 1996
- ^ a b c Between Irish National Cinema and Hollywood: Neil Jordan’s Michael Collins
- ^ Flynn, Roderick and Patrick Brereton. "Michael Collins", Historical Dictionary of Irish Cinema, Scarecrow Press, 2007. Page 252.
- ^ a b Goldstone, Patricia. Making the world safe for tourism, Yale University Press, 2001. Page 139
- ^ Fitzpatrick, David. Harry Boland's Irish Revolution, Cork University Press. Page 8.
- ^ Collins to Kevin O'Brien, Frongoch, 6 October 1916, quoted in Tim Pat Coogan, Michael Collins, Hutchinson, 1990.
- ^ "Michael Collins", The South Bank Show, 27 October 1996.
External links
