The General (1998)

Director:

John Boorman

Writers:

John Boorman (writer)
Paul Williams (novel)

Release Date:

18 December 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

The extraordinary true story of the rise and fall of the gangster, Martin Cahill.

Plot:

The real-life story of Dublin folk hero and criminal Martin Cahill, who pulled off two daring robberies in Ireland with his team...

Plot Keywords:

Robbery | Police | Courtroom | Harassment | Spanking

Awards:

9 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

Brendan Gleeson	...	Martin Cahill
Adrian Dunbar	...	Noel Curley
Sean McGinley	...	Gary
Maria Doyle Kennedy	...	Frances
Angeline Ball	...	Tina
Jon Voight	...	Inspector Ned Kenny
Eanna MacLiam	...	Jimmy
Tom Murphy	...	Willie Byrne
Paul Hickey	...	Anthony
Tommy O'Neill	...	Paddy
John O'Toole	...	Shea
Ciarán Fitzgerald	...	Tommy
Ned Dennehy	...	Gay
Vinny Murphy	...	Harry (as Vinnie Murphy)
Roxanna Williams	...	Orla

Also Known As:

I Once Had a Life

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and pervasive language.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK | Ireland

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | France:U | New Zealand:M | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company:

J & M

Trivia:

When the film was shown theaters, it was in black and white but when it aired on American cable television networks, it was shown in color.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The movie shows the raid on the jewelry manufacturers Thomas O'Connor and Sons in Harold's Cross, Dublin, which took place July 27th, 1983. The raiders use a Volkswagen T4 Transporter in the movie that wasn't in production in 1983 - this model was introduced onto the market in 1991.

Quotes:

Martin Cahill: We never should have bought this house. You never own things. You never own things. The things own you.

Movie Connections:

References Deliverance (1972)

Terrific biopic

Being Irish-American, I can tell this; there's an old joke about an Irishman who washes ashore of a new country and asks the first person he sees, "What kind of government do they have here?" The person tells him, and the Irishman responds, "Well, whatever it is, I'm against it." Martin Cahill, from what I know, would seem to share that sentiment, but not out of any political bent; indeed, he's all the more fascinating for being completely apolitical. He just rails against any government that, by definition, is there to ensure he can't make a living at the thing he likes to do the most; steal from the rich.

John Boorman's portrayal of Cahill, nicknamed THE GENERAL(the title of this movie), portrays him as the thug he can be, not only in his viciousness(the famous pool table scene), but also his selfishness(as soon as he's successful, the only "poor" he gives to after robbing the rich is himself and the rest of the gang), yet allows him his delusions of grandeur; after all, isn't that all we often have to fall back on? Of course, Cahill is quite talented at what he does, using ingenuity as much as brute force to get what he wants, like going to talk to police inspector Ned Kenny(Jon Voight) while his men are robbing a bank, not just to keep Kenny occupied, but to give himself an alibi(the look on Voight's face when he realizes he's been set up is alone worth the price of admission).

Brendan Gleeson, a regular in Irish movies(and recently seen in LAKE PLACID), makes everything Cahill does seem somehow normal, even his habit of hiding his face with his hand when he wants to avoid unpleasantness, or the fact that he lives with both his wife and her sister(Maria Doyle Kennedy and Angeline Ball, from THE COMMITMENTS), even, of course, his job. Obviously, we're not supposed to like Cahill, but like Inspector Kenny, we develop a sneaking admiration for him just the same(if there's a flaw, it's we see Kenny sinking to the level of Cahill once by punching him out, but we don't see the character arc there).

Boorman is obviously a great visual director(much has been made of the black-and-white photography - too much, in my humble opinion - while not enough has been made of his use of quick fades, which lend it a dreamlike quality), but he needs a good story to engage him. When he doesn't have it, like in BEYOND RANGOON or - sad to say, for me for the most part - DELIVERANCE, it's all empty. When he does have it, like in POINT BLANK or HOPE AND GLORY, it's engaging and compelling, and he has a great story here(isn't it funny that while he's know for his visual work, his best films, like this and HOPE AND GLORY, he also wrote?). A terrific biopic.