Veronica Guerin

Rating:
Summary: You have to ask Why?...
Review: Leaving the theater, after watching Veronica Guerin, you have to ask yourself, WHY? Why did an Irish journalist, who had no experience in investigative reporting, suddenly want to take on the top Drug Lords in Dublin? Why did she push herself so hard and so fast, that she had little time for her husband and six-year-old son? Since Veronica was such a loner, without many friends, and worked out of her home, the WHY quwstion will probably never be answered.

Amazon.com's reviewer wrote "Veronica Guerin is an adequate tribute that could, and should have been exceptional. But he didn't explain how. This is where a wonderful, exciting movie could have been exceptional. Cate Blanchett did a fantastic, Oscar-worthy job in the title role, and it's not her fault that the screenplay did not give her a chance to explain her motives.

Accents are no problem for the rest of the cast, as they are some of Ireland's top-notch actors. Gerard McSorley (In The Name of the Father), as the tough drug trafficker John Gilligan, turns in a stellar performance once again. Ciaran Hinds, as John Traynor (The Coach), is Veronica's chief informant. But can she count on all his information to be accurate? He is working for Gilligan, who is the only gangster Guerin does not supply with a nickname.

An earlier Irish film (2000), on the life of Veronica, called When The Sky Falls, starring American actress Joan Allen, did a slightly better job of explaining her motives, by having them discussed by her bosses at the Sunday Independant, her husband, and to some extent, her son. This movie did not even try, even though it had a great opportunity, with Oscar winner Brenda Fricker(My Left Foot), playing Veronica's mother. Watching their scenes together, you kept wondering when they would discuss her dangerous occupation? But it never came up.

This film is very accurate in using the real names and nicknames of the Drug Lords, and follows the true story of how Veronica's all-out effort to bring down the drug traffickers gets her in so much trouble. She is shot at in her home, and then shot in the thigh, and finally beaten up by drug dealer John Gilligan, who has her murdered, when she exposes him in her paper, despite his warnings that he would kill her if she did.

Other Irish crime movies that lead up to the Veronica Guerin era (1994 to 1996), are The General, starring Brendon Gleason, which I highly recommend, and Ordinary Decent Criminal, starring Kevin Spacey, which is one of the worst movies I have ever seen, so bad that it was not even released to theaters in this country. Both films are based on Martin Cahill (The General), Ireland's most famous regular criminal, who did not deal in drugs, but was interviewed by Veronica, before he was killed by the IRA in 1994.

Veronica Guerin, which I highly recommend, does contain some graphic violence, drug use, and much foul language, which you can excuse, when you know that's just the way they talk in Dublin. It is only 138 minutes long, but should have been longer. Those extra minutes could have been used to explain the Why's!

Rating:
Summary: Cate Blanchett as the infamous murdered Irish journalist
Review: On the off chance that you do not know what this film is about, "Veronica Guerin" begins with the title character surviving a court date for parking and speeding tickets before her car is stopped at a light and two guys come along side on a motorcycle and knock out her window with a gun. The actual assassination comes later, but clearly Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) is going to get blown away, so when the film fades to black and we then find ourselves two years earlier, we understand that we will learn what who wanted this reporter dead and why. In case we do not understand, there is a fair amount of background details provided on screen.

For an American audience, at least, this 2003 film fits into an established genre, in which an intrepid reporter fights to get the story. What is more difficult to appreciate is that when Guerin was killed in 1996 she was the first journalist murdered in Ireland. That makes a difference because even though in this film Guerin is motivated by a mixture of outrage over young kids doing drugs and the desire to make a name as a journalist, one of the other defining elements is that she is rather reckless. Even after she is shot, in the most serious of the early warnings for her to stop investigating the Dublin drug trade, you still have the feeling that she does not think anybody will go so far as to kill her. Not because of the repercussions for crossing that line but more because nobody has ever done so before. Indeed, before she is killed the worst thing that happens to her is not the savage beating administered by the drug kingpin, John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley), but rather his unveiled threat as to what he will do to her son.

Still, it is possible to read Guerin's culpability in her own death as being due more to naivatee rather than any act of hubris, even though dismissing her police guard was obviously not a smart move. Certainly family and business associates both try to disuadde her from from courting danger, but we know they do not make movies about reporters who give up, so Joel Schumacher's film is going to play out this drama to the end. There are also aspects of libel laws in Ireland that force nicknames to be used for the major criminal figures, that have to be taken into account because it means having your name in the paper means something quiet different over there. But still, our expectations for this genre overwhelm the unique qualities of this particular story, which gets played out by the numbers, including the requisite epilogue that serves to enumerate why Guerin's death was not in vain. This is a good film, but given its subject matter you have to think it should have been more inspiring.

One of the interesting aspects of this film from a cinematic perspective is that we have seen some of the characters and the story before. Martin Cahill (Gerry O'Brien), the infamous "General" of Guerin's stories is the subject of John Boorman's 1994 film "The General," with Brendan Gleeson as Cahill. Then there is John Mackenzie's 2000 film "When the Sky Falls," which fictionalizes this story as that of Sinead Hamilton, played by Joan Allen. It seems "Veronica Guerin" is the least regarded of the three, which speaks well for the other two films (which I intended to view shortly) in that this film is pretty good. Blanchett's performance as Guerin is solid enough, and if she lost out on an Oscar nomination it might be because votes for her were split between this film and "The Missing."

Rating:
Summary: Cate Blanchett as the infamous murdered Irish journalist
Review: On the off chance that you do not know what this film is about, "Veronica Guerin" begins with the title character surviving a court date for parking and speeding tickets before her car is stopped at a light and two guys come along side on a motorcycle and knock out her window with a gun. The actual assassination comes later, but clearly Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) is going to get blown away, so when the film fades to black and we then find ourselves two years earlier, we understand that we will learn what who wanted this reporter dead and why. In case we do not understand, there is a fair amount of background details provided on screen.

For an American audience, at least, this 2003 film fits into an established genre, in which an intrepid reporter fights to get the story. What is more difficult to appreciate is that when Guerin was killed in 1996 she was the first journalist murdered in Ireland. That makes a difference because even though in this film Guerin is motivated by a mixture of outrage over young kids doing drugs and the desire to make a name as a journalist, one of the other defining elements is that she is rather reckless. Even after she is shot, in the most serious of the early warnings for her to stop investigating the Dublin drug trade, you still have the feeling that she does not think anybody will go so far as to kill her. Not because of the repercussions for crossing that line but more because nobody has ever done so before. Indeed, before she is killed the worst thing that happens to her is not the savage beating administered by the drug kingpin, John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley), but rather his unveiled threat as to what he will do to her son.

Still, it is possible to read Guerin's culpability in her own death as being due more to naivatee rather than any act of hubris, even though dismissing her police guard was obviously not a smart move. Certainly family and business associates both try to disuadde her from from courting danger, but we know they do not make movies about reporters who give up, so Joel Schumacher's film is going to play out this drama to the end. There are also aspects of libel laws in Ireland that force nicknames to be used for the major criminal figures, that have to be taken into account because it means having your name in the paper means something quiet different over there. But still, our expectations for this genre overwhelm the unique qualities of this particular story, which gets played out by the numbers, including the requisite epilogue that serves to enumerate why Guerin's death was not in vain. This is a good film, but given its subject matter you have to think it should have been more inspiring.

One of the interesting aspects of this film from a cinematic perspective is that we have seen some of the characters and the story before. Martin Cahill (Gerry O'Brien), the infamous "General" of Guerin's stories is the subject of John Boorman's 1994 film "The General," with Brendan Gleeson as Cahill. Then there is John Mackenzie's 2000 film "When the Sky Falls," which fictionalizes this story as that of Sinead Hamilton, played by Joan Allen. It seems "Veronica Guerin" is the least regarded of the three, which speaks well for the other two films (which I intended to view shortly) in that this film is pretty good. Blanchett's performance as Guerin is solid enough, and if she lost out on an Oscar nomination it might be because votes for her were split between this film and "The Missing."

Rating:
Summary: Passionate or Naive?
Review: So this movie was supposed to be a depiction of real-life events in the life of an investigative reporter determined to expose the seedy underbelly of an organized crime group in Dublin. I don't mean any disrespect to Ms. Guerin or the work that she did for her country, but this movie doesn't do well depicting her motivations and life.

I cannot imagine how a woman who has been personally threatened, who has had her family threatened, and who has survived an assassination attempt, would continue to pursue her goal as dogmatically and as recklessly as Ms. Guerin did in this movie. I'm not saying she should have stopped what she was doing, but there had to have been other ways for her to get the story without as much personal risk to her and her family.

I crystallized this conclusion when I saw the scene where Ms. Guerin approaches Mr. Galligan, basically to top man in the crime syndicate, at his estate, which is expansive and includes a horse ranch. By this point Ms. Guerin has already been shot once (at her son's birthday party!) and had her family's life threatened. Yet she, without a wire or other police assistance, walks right up to Mr. Galligan's door and asks him point blank how he can afford his life when he no visible source of income. This of course results in her getting the crap kicked out of her. What did she expect, milk and cookies?

For all the chutzpah Ms. Guerin showed when approaching the crime lords face to face, I would have expected her to pull at least a Buffy or two. When you ask the cheeky questions in dangerous situations, you better either have a big bodyguard or be able to take care of yourself. She had neither, and, in a way, invited the physical abuse upon herself.

Again, I don't mean to put down Ms. Guerin's real-life accomplishment in terms of calling attention to the drug problem thus starting its eradication, but the Veronica Guerin portrayed in this film was no doubt meant to appear strong, confident, and passionate about her cause; she came across instead as headstrong and reckless, placing her and her family's life in jeopardy.

Rating:
Summary: okay if you're able to tolerate the irish accents
Review: The goddamned constant fake Irish accents in this movie makes it sometimes seem unwatchable. Cate Blanchett did a better job with The Missing. I never heard of the actual person Veronica Guerin. At first, I wondered if she was related to Bill Guerin. Apparantly not. The climax to this movie really brought a smile to my face. The main mobster was named Gilligan. It's sometimes predictable, like the cheesy, overdone scene that is supposed to be suspenseful where someone is on the phone chatting and there is someone at the door and it's trouble. Fallen had that too. I originally thought Joel Schumacher was a good director, but I won't say that now. The Client and A Time to Kill were good, but that was only because the books did all the work.

Rating:
Summary: Courage Will Echo Through the Power of the Pen...
Review: The life of Veronica Guerin was full of hope, desire to improve the world, and a need to inform the public about the injustices and crimes of others that most dared not speak off. Veronica was a reporter for an Irish newspaper where she used to publish the results of her investigations . The investigative reports by Veronica were often laughed upon by other reporters, but the articles were also feared by those who were investigated. The truth had to be heard and Veronica was one of those brave souls that fought the war of injustice for those who could not through the power of the pen. The story of Veronica is based on a true story and her courage will echo through time as others like her are committed to spread the word of truth.

The story begins with Veronica (Cate Blanchett) being freed of charges as she had compiled a large number of speeding tickets. Veronica exits the courthouse and begins her drive home while calling her mother and a police officer to let them know that she is back on the road. When Veronica stops at a red light someone drives up next to her and crashes her window to her car. This is followed by a flashback to what lead up to the current event as Veronica followed up on a lead regarding the excessive amount of heavy drugs on the streets of Dublin.

The film depicts the dark side of Dublin before Veronica pushed the law enforcement into action. This is told in one long flashback that leads up to the current moment in the film. The location and mise-en-scene are powerful as they help depict a realistic setting for the film, which enhances the aesthetic atmosphere of the story. Cate Blanchett's performance is excellent as she is convincingly strong, yet delicately frail as she is submitted to highly stressful situations. In the end, the audience will experience a good cinematic experience, which is similar to the film When the Sky Falls (2000).


Rating:
Summary: A MODERN MARTYR
Review: The murder of the Irish journalist Veronica Guerin in 1996 was reported on the main BBC news. For the event to be given that much significance was enough to rouse me into watching my first film in nearly a year. Journalists sometimes dice with death we all know, but they rarely get international recognition for it.

This is the story of years 36 to 38-and-final in the life of a brave, very likely reckless, woman. She saw the effects of the drugs trade, then still a comparatively recent development little acknowledged in official circles, in Dublin and waded in with breathtaking insouciance on the territory of the top racketeers themselves. They put various frighteners on her, and she was duly frightened, but she just seemed to bounce back from everything like a rubber ball. How true to the real personality of this young wife and mother this is I have no way of knowing, but if it comes anywhere near it I can easily understand what may have driven Schumacher to raise this monument to her memory. It really does seem, if the end of film is to be believed, that she largely broke the power of the drugs barons, and virtually single-handedly. She paid the final price for it, and insofar as she can be immortalised Schumacher has tried to do that for her.

The personality played by Cate Blanchett seemed to me rather two-dimensional, although that is more a matter of the script than of the acting. None of the characters is treated in depth, the action is sequential rather than cumulative, and my provisional opinion is that this is at it should be. The story we are given is of a determined but blithe and cheerful young woman moving among a nest of alligators less with heroism than with indifference to the danger, and this is really the story of a chain of events hung around a central character rather than the story of a tragic heroine reacting to the events. Blanchett dominates the screen from first moment to last, the personality she portrays is loveable and magnetic, the supporting acting is lively and realistic, and the film seems shorter than it is. She was lovely to the last, extinguished not decayed.

Rating:
Summary: Violence, as viewed, from the other side
Review: The story of Veronica Guerin is the story of violence & society; the brutishness of some of its scenes serves no entertainment quotient consequently, but to illustrate the reality of this societal affliction. We see violence on television and in the movies so much that, in large measure, we continually creep toward a fatalistic acceptance of it. Or we simply try not to concern ourselves with it so long as it does not directly affect us. Representations of it on the screen are viewed---we see someone shoot another, say, but the terror of such violence is rarely conveyed skillfully enough for us to actually feel as if we ourselves are the ones being subjected to such gastly behavior. That's the problem with Hollywood: it serves up platefuls of violence without inculcating in us viewers any revulsion to it. It's not real, anyway; It's the movies, or television, etc., goes the refrain. But violence ISN'T entertainment. If we are to be subjected to expressions of it, I'd argue, the least we should expect---except perhaps in military epics---is that the director should present it for what it is and/or attempt to at least show the horror of it from the victim's perspective. Is that too much to ask? Fortunately, director Joel Schumacher, in this film does just that. A particular scene in this biopic has reporter Veronica (most ably portrayed by Cate Blanchett) coming to knock on the door of a gangster. What follows, as you can well imagine, is a confrontational exchange. And the reason this film is a fine effort is that the rage of the (heretofore, under-the-radar) gangster is made as apparent herein as the fear with which his victim cowers from it. The scene is as unpleasant to watch as it is important for understanding what the real Veronica Guerin persevered through. And we---figuratively placed in her shoes thanks to skilled filmmakers---are left to ponder why, in fact, she continued to soldier on in the face of such; how she could recover from the blows she received---particularly the psychological one of almost being scared to death. (One can learn more about this scene which, incidentially---like most in this film---actually occurred, by listening to the director's audio commentary available on this DVD. The producer and writing team offer 2 additional commentaries for the especially interested.) Do consider this (more like 3½ star) film. And contrary to what the editorial review says above, the first attempt at making this story into a film---"When the Sky Falls"---is not half as successful as "Veronica Guerin." Cheers!

Rating:
Summary: Modern Day Heroine
Review: There are few actresses in the world that can take on just about any role they choose. Cate Blanchett is one of them. "Veronica Guerin" is a true tale of a no-nonsense Irish reporter that will go to any length to bring the truth out. In this case, it is exposing drug dealers in mid-nineties Ireland. Veronica is abrupt and sometimes abrasive, but always the professional. Only the criminals around her can emphasize how courageous her commitment is to tell the truth by their vicious threats. Blanchett always brings a vitality and truth to every role she plays, and to be honest, this film would have failed without her work. It is an ordinary story, all too well known in the world, but Veronica Guerin is unafraid and nearly unstoppable. That is what makes her an unusual person in a world full of murderers and drug traffickers.

Joan Allen played the role of Veronica Guerin in 2000's "When The Sky Falls". It's also a great film with fine acting, but not as well crafted as Schumacher's Hollywood version. The director and writers commentaries are typical, but the rare footage of the real Veronica Guerin addressing the 'Committee to Protect Journalists' is priceless.

Rating:
Summary: Uplifting and sad at the same time
Review: This movie, based on the true life of Irish journalist for the Sunday Independent Veronica Guerin, is uplifting and sad in unison. I found myself amazed at the courage shown by this woman in facing the organized crime in Ireland, fighting to make the world a better place by exposing these people. On the other side, it is sad to know that her quest had nefarious results for her and her family. This is one of the best movies I have seen this year, and knowing that these events really happened lifts it to another level for me.

The movie starts with the shooting of Veronica after she gets out from court where she was facing charges on twelve hundred parking violations and a couple of speeding tickets for going over one hundred miles per hour. Then, the action goes back and starts revealing how the journalist got to that point. Veronica Guerin was a journalist that felt empty when writing casual and non-critical articles, so when she is assigned to the crime section, she finds a cause she can embrace. In Ireland, the drug trade has driven crimes rates to a record high, and a myriad of youngsters are living in the streets, having only one desire...to get high. Veronica's quest consists in connecting the drugs to the crime lords and bring the organization down. To do this she starts relentlessly pursuing these dangerous people and gets her family and herself into dangerous situations. "The Monk", "The Coach" and "The General", among others, are getting nervous.

While watching this movie you will find yourself cheering for the heroine, and getting worried and scared for what may happen to her and her family. Cate Blanchett has a stellar performance, which makes the character even more likable. This actress focuses a good part of her time on plays, but I would really love if she decided to devote a larger part of her time to movies, which is what I usually have access to.