Review: Despite a few missteps, Kenneth Branagh's 'Belfast' is an Oscar-bound crowd pleaser
With the semi-autobiographical, 1960s-set “Belfast,” writer/director Kenneth Branagh crafts his most personal film yet, one that’s uncannily timed with its focus on family amid political and cultural divisions.
Rousing and bittersweet in equal measure, “Belfast” (★★★ out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday) takes audiences to the streets of the title Northern Ireland locale in 1969 when the sight of a young boy gallivanting around using a garbage can as a knightly shield quickly gives way to the violence of a religion-fueled civil war. Boldly filmed in black-and-white, Branagh wrings a heartfelt narrative from a superb cast, though the story stumbles somewhat when it strays from its youthful focal point.
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Young newcomer Jude Hill is the precocious heart of the piece as 9-year-old Buddy, the youngest member of a working-class Protestant family. He adores watching TV and going to the cinema with his Ma (Caitriona Balfe) and Pa (Jamie Dornan), plus spends a lot of time with his loving grandparents (Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds). However, his happy-go-lucky childhood is rocked when the national conflict between Protestants and Catholics ignites right outside his door. Barricades go up, tanks roll down his street, cars are firebombed, stores are looted and Buddy struggles to make sense of it all, even wondering if he can have a future with the Catholic girl he crushes on.
There’s also tumult in Buddy’s household. Pa works construction for large stretches of time in England where the money’s better – which is good considering he’s run afoul of the taxman – all causing a strain on his marriage. Because of the violence outside their windows, Pa wants his family to move to London while Ma, although overprotective of her sons, doesn’t want to leave their tight-knit community of family and friends.
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“Belfast” is akin to the Irish version of Alfonso Cuaron’s Mexican throwback “Roma” – not only for the period drama, black-and-white look and inevitable Oscar nomination but also because of its focus on family in the face of social tumult. The “Belfast” cinematography is stellar, using splashes of color occasionally and brilliantly, and the snappy soundtrack of Van Morrison tunes gives it a musical soul.
The episodic nature of Branagh’s screenplay mostly works, much of it seen through Buddy’s eyes: The child sees his Pa come and go and has big questions about their future, as the shenanigans of his troublemaking cousin Moira (Lara McDonnell) cause him to get a little too close to the neighborhood rioting for his Ma’s comfort. But a subplot between Pa, whose family has maintained friendships with their Catholic neighbors, and some anti-Catholic ne’er-do-wells never quite is explained, and there’s some tonal whiplash between the terror of religious rancor and Dornan crooning “Everlasting Love.” (That said, the world is probably pretty polarizing for a 9-year-old.)
As the child navigating all this, Hill is a great little acting find – there’s palpable awe and wonder to how Buddy sees his life, even as outside forces threaten to squash that light. Balfe is also splendid as a mother holding on to her family for dear life and hoping for normalcy during a period that she and others seem to know will forever change them. As she’s being bandied as an Oscar contender, let’s also throw some for-your-consideration love toward Hinds as rascally grandfather Pop, whose health issues don’t prevent him from being Buddy’s wise and most trusted confidant.
Except for a few missteps, "Belfast" mostly succeeds as a crowd-pleasing coming-of-age film, and is a thoughtful and touching look at a nuanced childhood through the lens of a filmmaker who himself lived it.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Belfast' review: Coming-of-age film makes case as Oscar contender
