Veronica Guerin

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<bR> <bR> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=400 BGCOLOR="#000000" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> Veronica Guerin</div> <div>  <iframe marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" width="120" height="240" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?o=1&l=as1&f=ifr&t=reelmoviecriticc&p=8&asins=B000189LE2&IS2=1&lt1=_blank"><MAP NAME="boxmap-p8"><AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS="14, 200, 103, 207" HREF="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm/privacy-policy.html?o=1" ><AREA COORDS="0,0,10000,10000" HREF="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home/reelmoviecriticc" ></MAP><img src="http://rcm-images.amazon.com/images/G/01/rcm/120x240.gif" width="120" height="240" border="0" usemap="#boxmap-p8" alt="Shop at Amazon.com"></iframe>  </div> <div> <IMG SRC="3632cbc0.png" border=0 width="300" height="444" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> For collectible movie items, enter the movie, actor, director, etc. in the box below</div> <div>  <HTML> <BODY> <script language="JavaScript1.1"> var 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ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="575" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 20 WIDTH="575"><div> <B>An Irish martyr</B></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="580" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Cate Blanchett: Veronica Guerin</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Ciaran Hinds: John "The Coach" Traynor</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Brenda Fricker: Bernie Guerin</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Gerard McSorley: John Gilligan</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 ><NOBR><div> Alan Devine: Gerry "The Monk" Hutch</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><div> Directed by Joel Schumacher</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="269"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="269" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="304"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="19" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="304" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> <B>Bottom Line:</B>  </div> <div> Based on a true story, this hard-hitting drama centers on the tenacious Irish investigative reporter whose exposure of Dublin's drug kingpins led to her violent assassination in 1996, which outraged the nation and ultimately led to a full-scale crackdown by the Irish government on these criminals.</div> <bR> <div> <B>Story Line: </B></div> <div> "Veronica Guerin" begins with a seemingly humorous scene in which her mother asks the parish priest to pray that her daughter's driver's license be revoked. Cut to Cate Blanchett's Veronica Guerin speeding down the highway in her fire engine red coupe, laughingly telling her editor via cell phone that she has beaten her ticket rap. Yuck, yuck, cute mother/daughter tension we think<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#FFCC66" FACE="Symbol" >¾</FONT>until a motorcycle pulls alongside and a helmeted gunman pummels six rounds into her body.  With this shockingly violent scene "Veronica Guerin" begins its story of the woman who has become an Irish hero, a champion of the press and the doggedly determined router of the bad guys.</div> <div> The film is book-ended by her assassination, with the meat of the script detailing her exposure of drug big-wig John Gilligan and the events leading to her untimely death. </div> <bR> <div> A reporter for Dublin's <I>Sunday Independent</I>, Guerin became entrenched in Dublin's drug problem after seeing hollow-eyed adolescents sitting listless amid used needles in a decaying apartment complex. No longer interested in writing fluff feature fashion articles, Guerin becomes almost obsessed with exposing the drug lords responsible for these wasted lives.</div> <bR> <div> When a gunman levels a bullet into her thigh as a warning, Guerin remains undeterred.  Her inside source, John Traynor, an ally of the dreaded Gilligan, who revels in seeing his code name "The Coach" mentioned in Guerin's columns, continues to give her questionable information. She even shows up at the front door of Gilligan's plush equestrian estate, boldly asks him the source of his vast fortune and is promptly beaten bloody by the thug. Her determined bravery seems in conflict with her slight frame and gender. </div> <bR> <div> Brief family scenes reveal Guerin as a devoted though absentee mother and wife, raising the curious question as to why she would put her loved ones in harm's way for a story.  At her son's birthday party she asks him who gave him the skateboard only to find out that it was a gift from her and her husband. Perhaps these moments merely give Guerin a human bent, an attempt to erase any halo from her portrait. In any case, they are effective.</div> <div>    </div> <div> <B>Tell Me More:</B> </div> <div> Forever linked with the "Batman" franchise, director Joel Schumacher's detour into serious cinema seems jarring but "Veronica Guerin" proves a worthy venture. Cast largely with local talent, except for Blanchett, "Guerin" exudes a realism that fuels the fire of this biopic. Blanchett not only looks like the real-life Guerin but also inhabits her unbending, brave personality and gives a memorable performance.</div> <div>    </div> <div> The unexpected, goofy cameo by Colin Farrell as the Tattoo Man however, is totally out of place and ruins the momentum of this fine film. Instantly the viewer is reminded that this is a Hollywood movie. This is a cheap stupid scene, perhaps a result of Schumacher's friendship with Farrell after directing him in "Tigerland" and "Phone Booth."  </div> <div>    </div> <div> A 2000 version of the Guerin story, "When the Sky Falls," directed by John MacKenzie and starring Joan Allen in the title role, suffered from poor distribution and was never released in the United States. It is currently available on DVD. </div> <div>       </div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="621" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Rated R for violence, language and drug content</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> Cathy Edsey Collins © 2003</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 19 WIDTH="617"><div> <A HREF="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:info@reelmoviecritic.com"><U><U>cathy@reelmoviecritic.com</U></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div> <B>Mini Filmography </B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="579" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Cate Blanchett: "Lord of the Rings" series, "Charlotte Gray", "Elizabeth" </div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Ciaran Hinds: "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life", "Road to Perdition" </div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div>  Brenda Fricker" "My Left Foot", "Home Alone 2"</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> Gerard McSorley: "Dead Bodies"</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 38 WIDTH="286"><div> Alan Devine: "Flick"</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="286"><div> Joel Schumacher: "Batman and Robin", "Batman Forever", "Bad Company"</div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>