Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
A small-time Belfast thief, Gerry Conlon, is wrongly convicted of an IRA bombing in London, along with his father and friends, and spends 15 years in prison fighting to prove his innocence.
In the Name of the Father is a gripping true-story drama anchored by Daniel Day-Lewis's electrifying, career-defining performance and a powerfully emotional turn from Pete Postlethwaite as Giuseppe Conlon. The plot is tightly constructed around the injustice of the Guildford Four case, building genuine tension despite the audience knowing the historical outcome. The ending delivers cathartic emotional payoff as Gerry's exoneration lands with real weight. Cinematography is competent and period-appropriate but not especially distinctive — Jim Sheridan favors dramatic storytelling over visual invention. Novelty sits in the middle: while the film handles its subject with passion and authenticity, the wrongful-conviction courtroom drama framework is well-trodden territory, and its power comes more from execution than formal originality.