| As burly gangster, Martin
Cahill (Brendan Gleeson) sets off in his
car, a man runs up to him and shoots him several times.
As he lays dying, he casts his mind back over his life.
So begins John Boorman's account of the life and death of
Dublin criminal boss, known as 'The General', a stylish
and energetic telling, based on Paul William's book of
the same title. His use of crisp black and white photography, wise-cracking humour and sharp editing recalls classic gangster movies of Bogart and Cagney. The movie, essentially an extended flashback, begins with a young Martin (Eamonn Owens of Butcher Boy fame) plying his trade as a young thief in a Dublin slum, stealing food for his fellow siblings and cigarettes for his mother. He is caught and sent to a reform school, where the boys are beaten and sometimes molested by the priests in charge. Martin resists any attempts at molestation and gets severely beaten for his troubles. The film fast-forwards to an adult Martin (Brendan Gleeson), still in jail discussing his imminent release with his wife (France Doyle Kennedy, The Commitments). When he gets back to his impoverished neighbourhood, called Hollyfield , he finds that the police are evicting the residents. |
Death of a Gangster Martin Cahill's death in The General is portrayed as an inevitable result of his dealings with paramilitary groups. His demise was, in reality, a little more complex... more>>>> |
| Gift of the Gab Jon Voight makes a reasonable stab at an 'Oirish' accent in 'The General' - some of his fellow thespians have not been so charitable. We take a look at some of the better, and far worse efforts...more>>>> |
They are all to be re-housed in a new housing development. Martin encounters his would-be nemesis, Detective Ned Kenny (Jon Voight) who pleads with him to turn over a new leaf, at least for his children's sake. Cahill is dismissive, and remains in his apartment even while the construction company are demolishing buildings on either side of his. When his apartment succumbs to the wrecking ball, he moves into a caravan on the site. When it is mysteriously torched, he puts up a tent. The housing association offer him a new home along with his former neighbours. He opts for a house in Ranelagh instead (a more upmarket neighbourhood). "Wouldn't you rather be close to your friends, Martin ?", he's asked. "No, I'd rather be close to me work", he replies, meaning the houses he is going to rob.
The film revolves around Martin's ingenious schemes to redistribute wealth in his own favour, as he grows in stature (and cunning) from a petty thief to the 'General' of a major criminal gang, and the Gardai's (the police in Ireland are known as the Garda Siochana) increasingly desperate attempts to thwart him.
The General's gang execute a number of daring heists due to Cahill's clever plans. The Gardai are unable to solve these crimes due to both their slick execution and the loyalty Cahill engenders among his gang, most of whom had grown up with him in Hollyfield. This loyalty is enforced by utter ruthlessness - one gang-member is suspected of creaming off some of the proceeds of a raid and is promptly nailed to a snooker table.
Cahill doesn't take any chances when he is eventually charged with an armed robbery. Since there is only forensic evidence to link him to the crime, he attempts to kill the chief forensic scientist by blowing him up in his car. When that fails, he threatens the main prosecution witness. The case against him collapses.
Brendan Gleeson's performance of Cahill is superb - he is affable, witty and charming but capable of directing violence and cruelty against anyone outside of his immediate family circle. It is great to see him in a leading role after his work in I Went Down, Braveheart and Michael Collins. He is well supported by the rest of the cast; Jon Voight as the long-suffering policeman charged with stopping Cahill, and Sean McGinley and Adrian Dunbar (The Crying Game,Hear My song) as Cahill's henchmen.While Cahill is the 'hero' of the film, particularly since the police are portrayed mainly as Keystone Cops, the film doesn't flinch from showing his dark side. It does pull one major punch. One of the gang is arrested for raping and beating his daughter while drunk. Afraid that he will crack under police interrogation, Cahill attempts to resolve the situation. However, unlike the rather noble deed depicted in the movie, the reality was that Cahill terrorised the girl so that she wouldn't testify against her father, who was released. Brutalising an incest victim was probably one deed that Boorman felt the audience might not tolerate of the film's hero.
As the film begins, a caption tells us that all events depicted in the film happened. It is probably just as well, since some of the antics are scarcely credible. His family life is bizarre - he eventually ends up sleeping with both his wife and her sister (with their mutual consent) and fathering children by both of them. His continual humiliation of the police, despite their 24-hour surveillance of his house, is a source of much amusement. On one occasion, a police car tails Cahill and his accomplice for hours through the Irish countryside, determined not to loose sight of him. Eventually, Cahills car runs out of petrol, as does the pursuing patrol car. Cahill jumps out, refuels his car from a spare fuelcan, and speeds off, leaving the police stranded.
Cahill's rationale is 'us against them'; the little guy against the Man; the 'ordinary decent criminal' against the law; the have-nots against the haves. Of course, just because Martin Cahill sees himself as a modern Robin Hood does not make it necessary so. Boorman has suffered some criticism in Ireland (where he now lives) for romanticising Cahill's life. For the most part, Boorman shows us the two sides of Cahill; his aspirations didn't always match his deeds. Despite his love of the under-privileged, his refusal to leave Hollyfield means that a new housing development can not be built (for people like him). His robbery of a jewellery store meant unemployment for 100 people.
The film suggests that Cahill's demise resulted because his reach exceeded his grasp - his gang steal a set of priceless paintings (the scenes of the heist are very funny) but cannot sell them. They try to bargain with both republican and loyalist terrorist groups from Northern Ireland but with little success, except to incur the enmity of the IRA. The police surveillance begins to tell on both Cahill and his gang, since it is much harder for them to plan heists. In truth, his ending was a bit like his life - an enigma. Despite stealing millions during his career, he lead a very simple life. He didn't drink, smoke or do drugs, and had a stable (if peculiar) home life. Boorman's film recounts that life with brio and is well-recommended.
Directed by John Boorman.
| ****** Excellent - An outstanding
movie ***** V. Good - Very enjoyable or engrossing **** Good - Entertaining *** Mediocre - Nothing special ** Poor - A waste of time * Terrible - Complete rubbish |
**** |
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