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Black '47

Black 47

2018

Lance Daly

Hugo Weaving, James Frecheville, Stephen Rea, Freddie Fox ...

6.2

1,243

Adventure. Drama Set in Ireland during the Great Famine in 1845-1849, the drama follows an Irish Ranger who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, as he abandons his post to reunite with his family. Despite experiencing the horrors of war, he is shocked by the famine's destruction of his homeland and the brutalization of his people and his family.

	Media	Author	Review
		Jessica Kiang Variety	"A resonant, beautifully performed Irish Western that benefits from the exotic sound of Irish Gaelic spoken as a living language, and the brackish majesty of cinematographer Declan Quinn’s wide vistas."
		Fionnuala Halligan Screendaily	"'Black 47' is intermittently effective on a visual level (...) Clunky, rough-hewn (...) Over-lit and under-nuanced"
		Stephen Dalton The Hollywood Reporter	"[A] dour, sluggish, cliche-choked thriller (...) 'Black 47' feels more like a small screen misfire than the grand cinematic epic that this rich story deserves"
		Geoffrey Macnab The Independent	"As an Irish revenge western in the vein of Sam Peckinpah and Clint Eastwood, it is tremendous – a rousing, blood-spattered drama (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		David Ehrlich IndieWire	"An unlikely genre mash that almost works (...) Daly never finds what he’s looking for — or he does, but it slips away"
		Ian Freer Empire	"'Black 47' lacks the seriousness and rigour of other displaced Westerns (...) But Lance Daly’s film is gripping enough to suggest Ireland’s tragic backstory is a frontier full of resonant riches (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"
		Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"A shocking but insightful drama (...) Australian actor James Frecheville (...) gives a coldly terrifying performance (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Donald Clarke Irish Times	"The screenplay rattles along at the pace of a hungry dog in pursuit of a healthy rabbit (...) Worth attending (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Paul Whitington Irish Independent	"An admirable attempt to go where no one has gone before (...) A moving and very entertaining genre picture (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Gavin entertainment.ie	"A taut and trim affair that, while political (...) doesn’t overdo the anti-British statements and keeps things focused on the job at hand (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Harry Guerin RTÉ	"[It] deserves its spot among the memorable films of 2018 (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 5)"
		Emma Donnelly Film Ireland	"Lance Daly is incredibly ambitious (...) but [this film] didn’t carry the same truth or warmth as his other features (...) Did it hit the target? Not quite, but there’s a wealth of things to enjoy nonetheless."

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