The posters and previews for "Michael Collins" make this movie out to be the next great historical epic. Billows of smoke surround Liam Neeson as he strikes the archetypal pose of the man who stands against the forces of evil. The film must certainly be the next "Braveheart."
Unfortunately, "Michael Collins" is not -- and is, rather, a second-rate attempt at an epic saga that ends up being mostly overblown and overdone.
The film tells the story of Michael Collins (Liam Neeson), one of the driving forces behind the Irish movement for independence and subsequent civil war.
The story begins with a short reenactment of the Easter Rebellion in 1916 and the quick defeat of outnumbered and under supplied Irish freedom fighters.
But what really sets off Collins and his compatriots is the quick execution of many of the key members of the Irish Republican Army. One man is actually carried out on a stretcher only to be executed by firing squad.
The film then jumps ahead two years, and Collins is suddenly in the thick of blusteringly patriotic speeches and surreptitious resistance activity.
When Collins learns that the British are planning to arrest or murder him along with many key members of the resistance, he uses information provided by an extensive espionage network to slaughter key agents of the British in Dublin first.
After a horrific response from the British, the two sides decide to make an attempt at peace. Eamon de Valera (Alan Rickman), the political head of the I. R. A., decides to send Collins to London for the negotiations.
Collins returns with a treaty in which the British grant independence to Ireland's southern counties while keeping the northernmost counties under their rule.
The public and most of the Irish cabinet accept the treaty with joy, but de Valera and his supporters, including Collins' best friend Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), reject the treaty.
They begin a civil war against Collins and his forces who support the newfound peace. It is this civil war which eventually leads to Collins' death, the climactic scene of the film.
Draped across this historical canvas is Julia Roberts as Kitty Kiernan, playing the definition of a "window dressing" role. She can't seem to choose between Boland and Collins for about half the movie. When she finally does choose Collins, it leads to all sorts of problems between the friends.
Unfortunately, the execution of this romantic and sweeping plot leaves much to be desired. Neil Jordan, director of "The Crying Game" and "Interview with the Vampire," chooses to film at least two-thirds of the movie as a muddle of dark, rainy, blue tinged close-ups which only frustrate the audience.
Jordan also seems to have an obsession with "The Godfather," as we have not one but three scenes which very closely parallel that film's famous scene which cuts between baptism and murder.
The first half of the movie, dealing mostly with espionage, is extremely confusing. Shots linger for scant seconds on documents which the audience is supposed to understand.
The second half of the film, which one hopes will include impressive recreations of historical battles, is just as disappointing.
The film wants so badly to paint Collins as the quintessential masculine hero that most of the other characters become caricatures.
For example, de Valera, a man who would become a hero to much of Ireland, is reduced to a quivering, hateful mess at the end of the picture. Apparently, in Jordan's world, anyone who could possibly think of disagreeing with Collins can be nothing more than pathetic.
And unlike "Braveheart," which also included the British as enemies, Jordan never allows a single Englishman to develop as a character. The character of the English King in "Braveheart" at least allows us to have a perspective from the opposing side.
Quinn and Roberts, however, are not so spectacular. Their stories seem to function only to make Collins more sympathetic. Neither of them has even a passable Irish brogue, either.
It is really only Neeson who redeems this movie at all. He gives a marvelous performance as a man driven to hate because of an oppressive British government "that makes hate necessary."
Even though the film as a whole portrays Collins as the ultimate "uberhero," Neeson allows us to see the kind of man who could have accomplished so much.
So while the movie itself, especially the writing and directing, is subpar, Neeson is moving enough to keep one's attention for a full two hours and 15 minutes. Even with Neeson's performance, however, this movie is probably not worth theater admission. It would be wise to wait for the video.
Press tickets provided courtesy of the Nugget Theater.
