When the Sky Falls
SHADOWS AWARD: BEST ACTRESS JOAN ALLEN
MUST-SEE
MUST-SEE
Sinead Hamilton (Allen) is the star reporter for the Sunday Globe--her stories about crime and politics confront the city's violent underworld in a way no other journalist would dare. Her work has her moving amid criminal bosses (Cunningham, Postletwaite and Flynn) and lowlifes (Smallhorne and Kelty), as well as shady cops (Bergin and Barry) working in nearly impossible conditions. Her touchstone to reality is her supportive but frightened husband (McNally) and their 5-year-old son (Geraghty).
It's this juxtaposition that makes the film work so well--real life at home and the office, with its humorous rhythms and emotional stresses, contrasted with the life and death situations on the streets. And Allen delivers a perfectly pitched performance that's gripping, moving and utterly believable from the opening scene to the tragic conclusion (Guerin was murdered in 1996). The script's portrait of her is overly reverential; her only flaws are a tenacious refusal to give up and she seems to be the only journalist in the world with fair, honest, upright principles. Fortunately, Allen keeps her feet on the ground fascinatingly, and the surrounding characters (even the villains) are all intriguingly layered. The best thing about the film is the way it never loses its human face amid the tensions, horror and journalistic intrigue. There's always time for a telling little throwaway scenes to reminds us that this is an ordinary woman rising to an extraordinary challenge ... one that will cost her life.
[18--strong adult themes, violence, language] 9.Jun.00
UK release 16.Jun.00
