Xenophon’s Anabasis, a classical Greek story, which I have not read, has influenced appealing movies such as Black Hawk Down, The Warriors and (the wretched) Tears of the Sun that tell tales of soldiers having to march through hostile territory to get home. I decided to watch ’71 because it sounded like a historical drama film in the vein of Black Hawk Down, but it isn’t.
First, ’71 isn’t based on a historical event or one single historical event. Second, instead of solely focusing on the British soldier trying to return to his base after being accidentally abandoned in Northern Ireland by his commander, ’71 uses his predicament to show how all the powerful factions on both the Catholic and Protestant side interact or oppose each other. The factions are the Official Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Provisional IRA, the British Army, Military Reaction Force (MRF), the Loyalists and the Royal Ulster Constabulary. ’71 unfolds in an urban environment and has a claustrophobic feel. Basically the soldier is just a sympathetic Dickensian plot device to give more interesting characters the stage.
’71 suggests that the conflict is more about who is on top and power struggles than addressing ordinary human concerns. ‘71 shows how the conflict has more in common with a snake eating its own tail. Decent ordinary people are trapped in the middle and ultimately victimized by those who are supposed to protect them.
The interesting twist is that the featured soldier of the British Army is cast as being one of the ordinary people. He gets to have all the positive traits of a young man enlisting in service for his country while not being sullied by the guilt of being part of a colonial occupying force. He hasn’t been working for the British Army long enough to cosign his employers’ methods, strategies or allegiances and is often victimized and separated from his employer by his employer both literally and figuratively. At times, ’71 seems a bit over the top and absurd. The soldier is on his first mission when he gets left behind (worst first day EVER), but if that isn’t enough, the situation escalates exponentially and somewhat absurdly in less than a few hours. His experiences are plausible over the course of a few days or weeks, but in twenty-four hours, not so much.
If you expect to learn more about Irish history by watching ’71, I have no idea if ’71 will help you. For example, the MRF come across as crooked cops who blackmail both OIRA and PIRA into working for them while simultaneously using Loyalists to exacerbate the conflict. If ’71 was aiming for that genre, then it works, but if it is an accurate depiction, then yikes, it also works, but by fitting a genre type, it made me doubt whether or not it was emblematic of the group or a genre!
Jack O’Connell, who recently appeared in Unbroken, does a great job as the abandoned soldier. Whenever someone chased or beat him, I kept thinking, “You clearly didn’t see Unbroken. He can run and take a beating. You don’t know him!” ’71 helped me realize that I need more Caribbean black drill sergeant in my movies. Shout out to Babou Ceesay!
’71 is a standard thriller that uses a historical conflict to elevate the tension of a drama about a man on the run who can trust no one. While it makes for a rousing viewing experience, I would hesitate to say ‘71 simultaneously educates and entertains.