'71 review: An edge-of-the-seat thriller set in war-torn Ireland

A soldier stuck in enemy territory, fighting for survival. Bullets, bombs and blood. It’s been done before, most recently in Behind Enemy Lines and The Raid.

It’s just never been done before in such a brutally beautiful fashion. Director Yann Demange’s ‘71 is not your typical Hollywood action thriller though. It’s fresh, grimly neo realist in style and narrative, and taut enough to retain that ‘holy crap that was awesome’ vibe that the best of popcorn entertainment has.

The film stars Jack O’ Connell (from the incredible drama thriller, Starred Up) as Gary Hook, a British soldier sent to Belfast during the infamous 1971 unrest (named ‘The Troubles’). Catholics and Protestants were lunging at each others’ throats and the British were trying to be power brokers. North Ireland, under the British Army’s nominal control, is waging civil war with the independent South Ireland. Belfast is in the eye of the storm and in complete, violent chaos much like in Black Hawk Down. Just like in that movie, Hook is separated from his unit after a mob overpowers them and is left to his own devices.

O’Connell really is quite fantastic in his role. Every wound he suffers makes you cringe because he’s so good at transferring the energy from the screen towards the audience. The same goes for the rest of the cast, particularly Sean Harris as the captain of the police. Harris doesn’t need to utter too many words to exude fear – you know he’s a scumbag from the very first shot.

The politics of Ireland are not very clearly explained in ‘71 but your heart goes out to the young men in the film being led to join the extremist camps and are victims of the machinations between the IRA, Sinn Fein and the British Army. Child actors Corey McKinley and Barry Keoghan are terrific as troubled kids trying to find a sense of belonging in this hellish Belfast.

Demange’s camera follows Hook sprinting like a mad dog, clinging to dear life in the most dangerous section of Belfast, The Flats. Structured like one big chase scene, ‘71 shows crazed members of the IRA hunting him down while Hook hauls himself from one set piece to the next, tearing up a little more of his body at each skirmish.

Tat Radcliffe’s cinematography whips out a bleak, escalating nightmare. On paper there is little scope to make a chase scene set at night different from what has been done before, but ‘71 captures Belfast and its danger in ways that catch you off guard. The assortment of shots give you both a view of the burning city as well as close-ups of the details that reveal the depth in both characters and setting.

Radcliffe’s visuals are beautifully balanced with David Holmes’s minimalist electronic music that intensifies the tension to unexpected levels. Hook’s situation feels real and with its unyielding pace, there isn’t a moment to breathe. Few films this year have been as volatile as this one. At 99 minutes, ‘71 is cut to perfection, and it’s entertaining as hell. It’s been making the rounds at the festival circuit and it absolutely deserves a full-fledged theatrical worldwide release.