Disc Reviews

’71 Blu-Ray Review

28th Feb 2015

Here for review we have the Blu-Ray release of Yann Demange’s gritty period action drama ’71.

As you might have guessed; the title refers to the year 1971, and the story takes place during the height of the ‘Troubles’ in Northern Ireland. The drama centres around Gary Hook (Jack O’Connell); a young British soldier, newly posted to Belfast. A capable and resourceful soldier; he and his unit are nonetheless extremely naive in terms of the nature of the conflict, and its inherent complexities.

Soon after arriving, Hook’s unit is sent in to provide crowd control support to a house raid by the less than respectable police squad in a particularly dangerous residential area. Woefully misjudged, and badly organised, things spiral out of control rapidly. Events conspire to leave Hook stranded alone in what is now extremely hostile territory, actively hunted, and unable to find his way back to safety.

In a premise somewhat reminiscent of both Walter Hill’s The Warriors (but with slightly less baseball bats), and even Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down; the drama revolves not only around Hook’s attempts to find his way out of the danger zone, but also the various confused agendas of supporting characters on both sides of the conflict, be they antagonistic or passive.

Despite creating its story within a period of history still so terribly divisive; the film remains even handed and apolitical. It manages the neat trick of making the viewer care about Hook’s desperate plight, while simultaneously demonstrating that people on both sides of the conflict can get trapped in cycles of destructive behaviour, and all but desensitised to it. Demange delivers a perennial truth: that conflict always attracts violent people to the frontlines. The kind of people who revel in the chaos they create around their psychopathy, and that decent non-violent people on all sides get caught in the crossfire.

’71 paints a picture of a community paralysed by the violence and inhumanity that has infected it, yet reminds us that even in the midst of this paralysis; people of good heart and conscience can be found.

This is the power of the movie. Our hero is capable and resourceful yes, but he’s just a man, and his fate is by no means predictable, survival is not assured. The forces at play around him, both known and unknown see to that.

Special mention must go to Sean Harris as Captain Browning, who’s character is as unpredictable and volatile as any on either side. In fact the supporting cast is excellent, especially some of the youngsters. The film makes an effort to describe how it is the young, the children that grow up not knowing peace; born into conflict, that can be the most damaged, and the most dangerous.

The Disc

On review here is the Blu-ray edition of the film, and as such picture and sound quality are as one would expect. Having said that; it’s worth bearing in mind that ’71 has a deliberately gritty look to it, with a colour palette designed to invoke the time period as well as the deprivation, desperation of the area. It’s not the deliberate artifice of perishing film stock that Tarantino applied to his ‘Grindhouse’ project, far from it. The film merely veers away from the glossy and oversaturated. For me, this helps sell, not only the time period, but the location too. The paltry bonus material (more on that in a moment), does at least reveal that the film was shot, by necessity in England, due to extensive modernisation of the actual area.

So, lets talk about ‘special features’.

Anyone who reads this author’s scribblings for Filmwerk, knows that a more rapacious consumer of supplemental material is hard to find. Learning more about a movie you’ve (hopefully) just enjoyed (or even one you really didn’t), from comprehensive documentaries and commentaries is an integral part of the home media experience.

So it is always with great disappointment when the material in question is lacking, as is the case here.

What we get then are short interview clips (and press junket style clips at that), with O’Connell, Demange, and writer Gregory Burke, plus the movie’s theatrical trailer. That’s it. Slim pickings indeed. Frustratingly, all three clips appear to be edited from longer interviews that remain unseen.

This is unfortunate, as a film as interesting and compelling as ’71 deserves better.

Conclusion

As is probably quite clear by now; ’71 is a really excellent, well crafted, and gripping historical drama. Whatever the trends and forces are that determine these things, and regardless of it’s sub £10m budget; ’71 deserves a much more complete home media package than that presented here. Even if it were simply those existing three interviews in their entirety.

A director’s commentary would I’m sure, be fascinating.

Obviously, not everybody feels strongly about supplemental material, so it may well be no demerit at all for many.

However, despite the negatives regarding special features; it should still be on everyone’s watch list; particularly if you’re bored of tired old Hollywood mediocrity.