"Belfast"
In 1969 (nice) young Buddy (Jude Hill) grows up in strange and trying times. His parents are arguing, he pines for the smart girl at school, and the street he lives on is set to be the battleground for the most turbulent strife in modern Irish history...
This movie was excellent. Shot in black and white (save for the brief spots of colour, when Buddy goes to the theatre and cinema, and one of these cleverly and excellently reflected in Judi Dench's glasses), it is evocative and sweet without feeling too Boomer. It's a lot funnier than I was expecting, which works in its favour: we have this, at its core, sweet and relatable story about an ordinary, poor kid's childhood - interrupted every so often by the horrors of what this "trouble" brought. Seeing it through his eyes is an effective, distant way of doing it: everything is slightly off frame, and the sweet tone never feels at odds with the darker subject matter. There is even a very amusing sequence at a supermarket, tinged with abject absurdity and terror, and a nice little nod and throughline of "High Noon" complete with literal brick joke.
Performances are uniformly good: Ciaran Hinds steals the show as Grandpa, it's nice to see Colin Morgan acting in something which isn't fucking "Merlin" and allowing him to stretch his chops, and Jamie Dornan shows that he actually can act. Catriona Balfe is great. But the real find is Jude Hill, he's going places.
My favourite part was a well-earned "Everlasting Love" sequence. Well done to all.
Even you, Van Morrison. Even you.
Fuck.
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