WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO KILL VERONICA GUERIN?
The true story of Irish journalist Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) who tried to expose dangerous drug dealers in Dublin – and was killed for it in 1996. Director Joel Schumacher takes an interest in a very serious story, this one ripped from the headlines. Part of the treatment wouldn’t seem out of place in your average TV movie, but it is quite effective. Blanchett also makes a difference as the driven, self-centered and cocky reporter who challenges John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley), Dublin’s worst criminal. Guerin was a crucial figure in this struggle to clean up the city, but we don’t learn very much about her.
2003-Ireland-Britain. 96 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced by Jerry Bruckheimer. Directed by Joel Schumacher. Cast: Cate Blanchett (Veronica Guerin), Gerard McSorley (John Gilligan), Ciarán Hinds (John Traynor), Brenda Fricker, Barry Barnes, Joe Hanley… Colin Farrell.
Trivia: The story was also told in When the Sky Falls (2000). Real-life gangster Martin Cahill is a key figure; his story was told in The General (1998).
