If you want to delve deep into the history of Northern Ireland, then The Boxer is a film that belongs among the great classics of cinema. Directed by Jim Sheridan in 1997, it offers a glimpse of a Belfast strangled by walls and barbed wire. A place that resembles a city besieged by violence, divided into two community camps ready to outbid each other at any moment to defend their ideologies…
Are you interested in context? A look back at The Boxer, a film that shook people’s consciences!
Daniel Day-Lewis plays Danny Flynn in The Boxer
Belfast, Northern Ireland. The province of Northern Ireland is in the midst of the Troubles. At this time, Catholic Republicans and Protestant Loyalists clashed in an atmosphere of terror. Bomb attacks were a regular occurrence, the British army patrolled the towns, and the death toll on both sides was uncountable.
The film’s story centers on Danny Flynn, an IRA member who has been convicted of an attack he didn’t commit, shattering his career as a professional boxer. After 14 years in prison, he was released and returned to Belfast.
Not wishing to have any further contact with the IRA, Danny decides to refocus on boxing, and resumes training, while setting up a club where he trains local children. Tired of the conflict, he multiplies his acts in favor of redemption and reconciliation…
However, his past and the local political situation complicate matters, especially when he reunites with his childhood sweetheart, Maggie (played by Emily Watson), who is now the wife of an IRA prisoner.
An attitude that strongly displeases certain members of the IRA, who are determined to get rid of him…
Jim Sheridan has always made the conflict in Northern Ireland one of his favorite themes. With his 1993 film “In the Name of the Father”, he had already tackled the complexity of the Northern Irish conflict, recounting the shocking injustices suffered by the Guildford Four.
But in “The Boxer”, the approach is different. It presents a bloodless, disaster-stricken Belfast with a realism that borders on the documentary. Grey skies and barbed wire. The streets are walled. Landlocked neighborhoods.
The British military are everywhere, guns drawn, criss-crossing sensitive neighborhoods with their tanks, flying over houses with their helicopters.
And the bombs explode without warning, confronting the population with the unbearable and a violence that is becoming almost ordinary.
It’s against this backdrop that Jim Sheridan has chosen to remind viewers of the brutality of the Northern Irish conflict. In his story, neither good nor bad… Both sides seem capable of the worst, even with each other… However, some of them appear more nuanced, also calling for peace.
In The Boxer, only the desire for reconciliation and redemption on the part of the hero and some of those involved in the conflict is praised. The desire to establish peace and understanding, far from the perpetual escalation of violence.
This isn’t the first time Daniel Day-Lewis has been in front of Jim Sheridan’s camera. Already seen in “Au Nom du Père”, this time he plays the character of Danny Flynn, a Northern Irishman who has been sentenced to 14 years in prison for an act he didn’t commit.
A former top boxer, he makes his comeback in Belfast, visibly changed. Introspective and silent, this man is not encumbered by words, but by deeds.
In his quest for redemption and a new chance in a divided society, he comes up against the violence of a conflict that has now overtaken him.
Daniel Day-Lewis uses this character to deliver a deeply human performance. We can’t help but be moved by this boxer’s desire to fight fairly for his convictions, far removed from the usual violence Northern Ireland goes through.
As for the other actors, they perfectly reinforce the poisonous atmosphere of the conflict.
Because Jim Sheridan doesn’t just skim over the political issues of the time, he tackles them in a nuanced way through meaningful interactions between the characters.
If you’re interested in the recent history of Northern Ireland, or if you’re simply a fan of good cinema, “The Boxer” is a must-see. Not only does he deliver outstanding acting performances, but he also tackles complex themes in a sensitive and intelligent way.
It sheds light on the complexity of a multi-faceted conflict, between open wars and latent conflicts.
All in all, “The Boxer” is a powerful film that offers a profound look at the difficulties of reconciliation and change in a context marked by conflict and division. It’s a feature film that leaves a lasting impression, long after the credits have rolled.
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