michael collins

now, i dont know much about the history of ireland so maybe this movie isnt for me. but i do love liam neeson, so i wanted to give it a try. the story follows michael collins (thats where the name of the movie comes from, in case you were wondering...) as he works with the people trying to get ireland's freedom from england. he first tries the violent approach, and gets englands attention, which is not always a good thing... he soon becomes a hero of the people of ireland and begins negotiating with the english leaders to find a peaceful solution. the people arent as excited about the peaceful option though, and he looses some support. the british leaders offer a deal, which collins accepts on behalf of the irish people, but then the british back out and are generally jerks about it all. the film itself is, i'm sure, an interesting study of great britain's political landscape during this time, but i must admit i wasnt drawn in by it. it was awfully talky, and the talking didnt always make sense. the people often times didnt act in very logical ways and the movie ends up with nothing to show for all the hard work, and julia roberts, mrs. collins, is left a widow. i know its historically accurate, but it just wasnt very compelling.