LIFE MADE THEM ENEMIES. POLITICS MADE THEM ADVERSARIES. ONE JOURNEY MADE THEM FRIENDS.
In 2006, Northern Irish loyalist leader Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) and former IRA activist Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) end up in the same car on a journey together, and begin to talk. The director and the screenwriter are both Northern Irish, informing this drama that asks itself what might have taken place before Paisley and McGuinness finally agreed to shake hands. The scenario is fictitious, and the subplot where a young agent is spying on them, acting as their driver, feels superfluous (even a bit silly), but it’s hard not to find the leading actors’ colorful interpretation of the sworn enemies engaging.
2016-Britain-Ireland. 94 min. Color. Directed by Nick Hamm. Screenplay: Colin Bateman. Cast: Timothy Spall (Ian Paisley), Colm Meaney (Martin McGuinness), Freddie Highmore (Jack), John Hurt, Toby Stephens, Ian Beattie.
