Belfast Film Review (No Spoilers)

'Belfast' Focus Features

Writer and Director, Kenneth Branagh provides this heart warming reflection of his childhood in an all black and white feature depicting Belfast from 1969. Through the eyes of a 9 year old boy, you experience the trauma of obstacles, the joy of simplicity, and the impact of genuine relationships in this story about one family wrapped into a story about one country.

Synopsis:

"A semi-autobiographical film which chronicles the life of a working class family and their young son's childhood during the tumult of the late 1960s in the Northern Ireland capital."

What You See, Feel, and Hear

This film is much deeper than what is represented on screen. On screen, you experience a very neutral energy within the script. Even with devastating moments you don't necessarily go through a journey of difficult emotions throughout the film, but rather it's as if you're watching "real life" depict itself on screen. The story was blatantly.. simple? As a viewer you're looking to get attached to something in order to feel invested within a film and that seemed a bit difficult at times. With minor moments of relationship building and humorous interactions I found myself a bit scattered with what I was focusing on. One thing I fell back on was the camera work. With a very simple story, Branagh introduced his version of creative camera work to capitalize on the art of storytelling. I relate this camera style to Wes Anderson with stationary movements and intriguing camera angles to enhance the subjects that were in place.

The acting was phenomenal yet I fear may go unnoticed. Jude Hill executes beautifully on his feature film debut as he manages the tone of emotions throughout the entire story as a 9 year old boy. The performance that allowed me to feel the severity of the circumstances was from Caitriona Balfe (Outlander, Ford v Ferrari, Escape Plan) who plays the role of Buddy's (Jude Hill) mother. I found it impressive how Kenneth Branagh truly made this film his own. This was the first script Branagh had written since 2006 where he wrote "The Magic Flute". Many cast members, including the production team, were raised in Belfast and had personal connections with this story. You even see a nod to Branagh's directorial work as you see Buddy reading a Thor comic (Branagh directed "Thor" in 2011).

Branagh decided to make this film black and white and I can only imagine that he wanted to capture the right energy with this script, especially while taking place in 1969. Within moments of the story you see the detail of art at work as emotions change strictly due to the use of cameras and sound. With a $7 million budget there wasn't a lot of room for substantial changes including lighting. Almost all the lighting during this film was used with only available light, meaning no additional lights were supplied even for scenes taking place indoors. The score was loose and "fun" and supplied a sense of childish light to the darkness of circumstances taking place.

My Take

I was a bit underwhelmed with the plot, and very pleased with the creative work and acting performances. The up-close dynamic of cameras on abstract angles was used almost perfectly. I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Buddy and his grandfather, their humor matched each other and though there weren't many moments between the two of them on screen, the ones that you do experience are the ones you remember most. I also enjoyed the authentic love story from the perspective of a 9 year old child. The most interesting secret was the color transition between black and white to color with specific scenes. I imagine this was due to separate fantasy and reality or past and present but regardless, it added a touch of curiosity and changed my passive viewing behavior to an active one. Overall, this is a beautiful film that is exceptionally slow from start to finish with subtle spurts of spontaneity.

Grade: 7.2/10