"BLOODY SUNDAY"
(2002) (James Nesbitt, Tim Pigott-Smith) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Minor	Heavy	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Minor	None	None	None	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Heavy	Mild	Moderate	Moderate	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Drama: A Protestant Member of Parliament tries to stage a peaceful civil rights march and protest in Ireland as British forces arrive to stop it and arrest various troublemakers.

PLOT:

It's January 30, 1972 and civil rights leader Ivan Cooper (JAMES NESBITT) is trying to organize and then lead a peaceful march and protest in Derry concerning Britain's internment without trial policy that's been in place for a year. A Protestant Member of Parliament, Ivan wants things to run smoothly and thus asks the I.R.A. to stay away. He also tells the town's young men, such as Gerry Donaghy (DECLAN DUDDY) who has a Protestant girlfriend, not to cause any trouble.

The British forces, however, are preparing for the illegal march and have decided to use it as an opportunity to arrest various residents they deem to be troublemakers. Accordingly, Major General Robert Ford (TIM PIGOTT-SMITH) has arrived to make sure that the operation, run locally by Brigadier Patrick MacLellan (NICHOLAS FARRELL), is a success.

The plan is for various armed members of the first Battalion of the Parachute Regiment to ambush those on their wanted list during the parade, and as the events draws closer, they prepare for their mission. Meanwhile, local police officer Chief Supt. Lagan (GERARD McSORLEY) tries to persuade MacLellan to call off the operation, knowing it will lead to unrest and potential violence.

As Ivan and others, including Kevin McCorry (ALLAN GILDEA), Eamonn McCann (GERARD CROSSAN) and Bernadette Devlin (MARY MOULDS), lead the march through the town, a splinter group of the parade breaks off and confronts those manning a British blockade. As words and objects fly, and as the British Paras prepare for their assault, Ivan tries to maintain the peace and avoid the inevitable bloodshed that's to follow.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Unless they're interested in the historical events or are fans of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For violence and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

JAMES NESBITT plays the Protestant Member of Parliament who's trying to get equal rights for everyone in Derry through peaceful means and must put up with the many headaches involved with the details and repercussions of their march.

TIM PIGOTT-SMITH plays the Major General who orders MacLellan to proceed with their plan and has no remorse or apologies for the bloodshed that follows.

NICHOLAS FARRELL plays the local British commander who reluctantly runs their mission to disrupt the protest and arrest various troublemakers.

DECLAN DUDDY plays a local Catholic resident who's just been released from jail for his anti-British behavior, and has a Protestant girlfriend (they briefly fool around on the couch).

GERARD McSORLEY plays the local police chief who wants the Brits to call off their planned raid and arrest during the protest.

ALLAN GILDEA, GERARD CROSSAN and MARY MOULDS play other locals who are involved in the parade and protest.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of at least 33 "f" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are used. A young couple makes out on the sofa while lying down with some groping.

Violence consists of various soldiers shooting and wounding or killing various innocent and/or unarmed civilians in a confrontation that gets out of control. Some of the victims are very bloody and that violence, scenes leading up to it and the aftermath (including grieving and shocked family members, etc.) might be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.

Various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes, while some drink or smoke. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those prone to visually-induced motion sickness, the film's extremely jumpy, hand-held camera work may be too much for them.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Some people have drinks.

We hear Ivan on the phone saying that getting someone a drink will be even better than tea.

BLOOD/GORE

We hear some gunfire and then see some blood on the ground next to people who've been hit as well as on them.

Various people who are shot are bloody to varying degrees (some to extreme amounts on the people, the ground around them or white sheets across the bodies).

We see dead and bloody bodies piled on the floor in a hospital.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

The British forces are portrayed as having bad attitudes for controlling the city, blockading streets and then firing upon and wounding or killing many innocent people (including those trying to scramble for cover, assist the wounded, etc.). Those responsible for the killings then conspire to get their fabricated story right and then lie about what happened. They also plant explosives on a dead body to make it look like he was carrying bombs (which he wasn't).

Local marchers don't follow Ivan's direction to have a peaceful march and instead confront the British forces.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may be disturbing and/or suspenseful to some viewers, especially since the film is shot in a "You are there" fashion.

A faction of the parade doesn't follow the lead and instead heads off to confront British forces at a street blockade. As time passes, this confrontation becomes more tense and then violent.

As British ground forces move into the area, they grab and/or hit certain protestors. They then open fire on many locals (including innocent bystanders) who fall to the ground injured or dead (some are very bloody). A few locals shoot back while everyone else panics and tries to scramble for cover as more people are shot and killed.

GUNS/WEAPONS

Machine guns/Automatic weapons/handguns: Carried and/or used to threaten, wound or kill people. See "Violence" for details.

Explosives: Stashed on a dead body.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Due to the accents and occasionally bad sound recording/reproduction, some of the dialogue could not be understood. That said, we heard the following phrases: "For f*ck's sake," "F*ckers," "Let's teach them a f*cking lesson," "What the f*ck was that?" "F*cking bastards," "Get the f*ck out of here," "Take no sh*t," "They'll sh*t themselves," "Kick some ass," "Pissed off," "Bastard(s)," "Let's give 'em hell" and "What the hell are you doing?"

Locals give the British "the finger."

JUMP SCENES

None.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

None.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

None.

PROFANITY

Due to the accents and occasionally bad sound recording/reproduction, some of the dialogue could not be understood. That said, we heard at least 33 "f" words, 6 "s" words, 5 hells, 3 asses, 11 uses of "Jesus," 3 each of "For Christ's sakes" and "Jesus Christ," 2 of "Oh Jesus" and 1 use each of "For God's sakes," "My God," "Oh God" and "God Almighty" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

We see Gerry and his teenage girlfriend making out on a couch (both are clothed), but a crying baby in another room keeps interrupting them. After checking on the baby, he comes back, lies between her legs on the couch, and has his hand up under her shirt with more passionate making out.

SMOKING

Lagan smokes several times, while Ivan and his significant other each smoke once and various miscellaneous characters also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Family members grieve over their dead after the mass shootings.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

The historical accuracy of the film and any bias the filmmakers may have made in making it and portraying the story.

The history of the strife in Ireland.

Civil rights movements.

VIOLENCE

Local protestors throw rocks, bricks and other small items at British forces at a street blockade. The British eventually bring out a large water cannon and spray the protestors. They then shoot rubber bullets at them (hitting some of the protestors) and fire tear gas (or something similar) into the crowd. We then hear some gunfire and see some blood on the ground next to two people who've been hit (as well as on them).

Locals struggle with another local over his gun.

Locals throw things against the British transport vehicles.

As British ground forces move into the area, they grab and/or hit certain protestors. They then open fire on many locals (including innocent bystanders) who fall to the ground injured or dead (some are very bloody). A few locals shoot back, and the British then shoot more locals who are just trying to run for cover or help those who are injured.

More locals are shot and killed.

British forces push locals up against the wall while frisking/checking them.

There's more gunfire at a roadblock and a wounded man who was being transported is now dead.

We hear that 27 people were shot and 13 were killed in the melee.

Reviewed October 18, 2002 / Posted November 1, 2002

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