Plot
A young and disoriented British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a riot on the deadly streets of Belfast in 1971.
Release Year: 2014
Rating: 7.3/10 (7,030 voted)
Critic's Score: 79/100
Director: Yann Demange
Stars: Jack O'Connell, Sam Reid, Sean Harris
Storyline
A young British soldier is accidentally abandoned by his unit following a terrifying riot on the streets of Belfast in 1971. Unable to tell friend from foe, the raw recruit must survive the night alone and find his way to safety through a disorienting, alien and deadly landscape.
Cast: Jack O'Connell -
Gary Hook
Sam Reid -
Lt. Armitage
Richard Dormer -
Eamon
Paul Anderson -
Sergeant Leslie Lewis
Sean Harris -
Captain Sandy Browning
Charlie Murphy -
Brigid
Valene Kane -
Orla (Spitting Woman)
Ben Peel -
Ruc Man
Sam Hazeldine -
C.O.
Martin McCann -
Paul Haggerty
Killian Scott -
Quinn
David Wilmot -
Boyle
Barry Keoghan -
Sean Bannon
Gerard Jordan -
Huge Man /
Lillian Hughes
Paul Popplewell -
Training Corporal Marsh
Filming Locations: Stansfield Street and Bank Top, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia:
Jack O'Connell's character was originally written to have come from Lancashire, UK, but at Jack's request was rewritten so the character came from Derby, Derbyshire, UK, the real birth home of Jack O'Connell. See more »
Goofs:
The movie shows the British soldiers holding the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR) with black plastic butt stock and fore grip. These were not trailed by the British Army until 1974 and were then phased in over the next 8 years. The rifles should all have had wooden butt stocks and fore grips. See more »
Quotes:
User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
Introduced by a hard-hitting boxing fight; the ethos of '71 is
immediately understood. It is brutal, thrilling and an utterly dramatic
directorial debut from Yann Demange.
Part of a new regiment, Jack O'Connell's lead character, Gary Hook, is
deployed to Belfast, Northern Ireland to help control an emergency
situation caused by IRA terrorism. Gaining an essence of Full Metal
Jacket meeting I am Solider – the film is quite honest in what it wants
to be, and the narrative because of it flows consistently in the right
direction.
Sent into the front-line urban warfare, Hook's regiment, under the
command of Lieutenant Armitage (Sam Reid) is quickly bombarded with
urine and pooh packages. Then quickly followed by one of the most
realistic, violent and dramatic riots that has ever appeared in film.
Soon, Hook is separated from his group and forced to survive as a
lone-wolf in the devilish-toned IRA hostile territory. All quickly
intensifies to an incredible Bourne-style chase through the streets of
terror; what with the cars alight at each corner, crisp cinematography
- everything feels authentic.
'They do not care about you, to them, you are just a piece of meat' –
one character announces to Hook. But how wrong they are, as '71 soon
turns into a game of cat vs. cat vs. mouse in a hunt of find him first.
Led by Jack O'Connell (Starred Up), his performance is uncanny – but
just one of the many highlights that '71 serves up. Co-starring
alongside, Sean Harris and Paul Anderson play undercover superiors, yet
are as corrupt as Bad Lieutenant.
Regimented like the army, '71 is on point. Everything is there for a
reason, and it shows on screen. Struck with luck, but unlucky to have
been there in the first place, Jack O'Connell prospers and carries the
film even when it is unneeded and secures it as one of this year's best
thrillers.
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