Alone against the crime
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Alone against the crime |
| Original title | When the Sky Falls |
| Country of production |
Ireland , United Kingdom , United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2000 |
| length | 107 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Mackenzie |
| script |
Guy Andrews , Ronan Gallagher , Colum McCann , Michael Sheridan |
| production | Nigel Warren-Green , Michael Wearing |
| music | Pól Brennan |
| camera | Seamus Deasy |
| cut | Graham Walker |
| occupation | |
| |
Alone Against Crime (Original Title: When the Sky Falls ) is an Irish-British-American drama directed by John Mackenzie from 2000 . Joan Allen is cast as Sinead Hamilton, a journalist modeled after Veronica Guerin . Patrick Bergin can be seen as Police Officer Mackey and Pete Postlethwaite as Reformed criminal Martin Shaugnessy. The plot of the film is based on the true story of Veronica Guerin.
action
Sinead Hamilton is a confident and intrepid journalist researching the Dublin drug scene. She is the secret star at the Sunday Globe , where she works. Her articles about the well-known criminal Martin Shaughnessy don't fail to have an impact. Some time later, Shaughnessy was shot dead in the street. There are clear threats against Hamilton, which however cannot dissuade the resolute woman from fighting for the truth. Hamilton's husband Tom, however, is very concerned about his wife, but on the other hand admires her - albeit in conflict with himself - for her fearlessness and tenacity and tries to support her as best he can.
Hamilton has since expanded her research as there is suspicion that the IRA was behind Shaughnessy's murder. The journalist also has sources of information that remain closed to the police authorities. With the help of her shady informant O'Fagan and the support of the police officer Mackey, who is frustrated by his previous experience with the inefficient legal system, Hamilton is making good progress in the matter. But the deeper she dives into the swamp of corruption, murder and drug trafficking, the more dangerous it becomes for her. When Hamilton takes on the powerful drug lord Hackett, it has dire consequences for her.
The Irish Republican Army is offering assistance to Hamilton because it has never brought them into connection with drug operations. For the Dublin underworld, however, the committed, multiple award-winning journalist is increasingly becoming a threat that one does not want to accept any further. If she is assassinated, she does not stand a chance and is killed.
production
Production notes
The film was produced by Bórd Scannán na hÉireann as well as Icon Entertainment / Irish Screen / Redeemable Features and Sky Pictures. The film was shot in the RDS Arena in the Ballsbridge district in Dublin and in County Dublin in Ireland , furthermore in Naas , capital of County Kildare in the Republic of Ireland, and in the Liberties, the outskirts of Dublin.
history
The plot is based on the true story of the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (1958-1996). She began writing a number of reports on crime in Ireland for the Sunday Independent in 1994 , with a particular focus on Dublin drug lords. Since it was forbidden to use real names at the time, she replaced them with pseudonyms . She was threatened and once even shot in her home. When she came across John Gilligan during her investigation, who was not officially in a regular job but had substantial assets, she tried to follow his lead. When she was therefore once in front of Gilligan's villa, she was beaten up by him. This was followed by a death threat not only against the journalist, but also against her son and, as a result, an offer of £ 100,000 bribe if she no longer mentions the name Gilligan in the newspaper and ignores the police. Guerin refused. On June 26, 1996, she was shot dead in her car while she stopped at a red light. The shot was fired by one of the men who had stopped their motorcycle next to their car. In November 1998 Paul Hippo Ward, a Dublin drug dealer, was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Guerin. John Gilligan, who was in charge of the organization and responsibility for the largest drug cartel that had existed in Ireland until then, was arrested and sentenced to 28 years in prison. Shortly after Guerin's assassination, the Irish parliament passed a constitutional amendment so that suspicious people's assets can be permanently confiscated with immediate effect.
- Another film adaptation
In 2003, Joel Schumacher made the film Die Journalistin with Cate Blanchett in the title role, which is based on the true story of Veronica Guerin.
Film music
- Full Circle by Loreena McKennitt , lecture: Sinéad O'Connor
- Sleep with the Ancients - The Spirit of Eden by Jimmy Smyth, Pearse Dunne and Jenny Newman
- Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue by Richard Leigh
- Open asylum
- Blockhead
Publication, success
The film premiered on June 16, 2000 in Ireland, on June 26, 2000 in the United Kingdom and was shown on September 13, 2000 at the Toronto Film Festival in Canada. It was released on DVD in Norway in January 2002, in Denmark in March 2003 and in Sweden it was first seen on Swedish television on August 10, 2007. It has also been published in Bulgaria, Finland, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United States. There he had the working title Veronica Guerin . On January 13, 2005 it ran for the first time on SR 2 and on DRS on Swiss television . In Germany the film was not shown in cinemas, it was released under the title Alone Against Crime .
The film grossed approximately £ 272,000 in British cinemas .
reception
criticism
Cheryl DeWolfe wrote in the Apollo Guide that the reason the film was so successful was because it left unanswered the question of whether the reporter assisted or hindered the police investigation. The scriptwriters would have successfully developed a fictional plot based on the real events. According to the less-is-more maxim, they would have shown as little violence as possible. The film is worth seeing.
Cinema drew the conclusion: "Greatly played, bitter factual thriller."
Derek Winnert praised the admirable Joan Allen wearing this skillful, captivating, well-meaning fictionalized retelling of the true story of Veronica Guerin with ease.
The Eye for Film site also praised Joan Allen, who is a wonderful actress. In her role as a wife and mother, who also has a career, she is so normal and so attractive. For once, this is not a film that America slavishly copies, it was also said, the choreography of violence is more natural and uglier. The bad guys wouldn't look Italian and even if the film shows the life of Hamilton in sentimental moments - actually too many - nobody bakes apple pie.
Award
At the Irish Film and Television Awards 2000, Seamus Deasy was nominated for the IFTA Award in the category “Best Cinematography” .
Web links
- Against the only crime in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Against the crime alone at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Just against crime (When the Sky Falls) see wunschliste.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Filming locations for When the Sky Falls see IMDb
- ↑ For the premiere dates for When the Sky Falls see IMDb
- ↑ Against the crime alone see info filmdienst.de
- ↑ Box office / business for When the Sky Falls see IMDb
- ↑ Cheryl DeWolfe: When the Sky Falls , review (English). Retrieved on February 28, 2019 ( Memento from June 27, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Against crime see cinema.de (including 11 film images). Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ↑ When the Sky Falls see derekwinnert.com (English). Retrieved February 28, 2019.
- ↑ When the Sky Falls see eyeforfilm.co.uk (English). Retrieved February 28, 2019.