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Graham Reid's tough and moving drama uses two events snatched from the
headlines as a way of examining tensions in Northern Ireland society in the
early 1990s. Some teenage joyriders were shot dead by British soldiers in
Belfast (and the soldier was later freed). Meanwhile, youths in Britain and
Ireland were indulging in the craze of 'twocking' and 'hotting' - stealing cars
and staging stunt displays and races in residential areas.
The anti-social nature of the three young protagonists' activities is clear,
but they are portrayed with complexity and understanding. In a society regulated
on every level, there is a delight in being on nobody's side and taunting any
establishment going - giving young people as diverse as the intelligent Frances,
the oddball Marley and the tiny, bereaved Sean something to believe in.
Northern Ireland is depicted as a corrupt and profoundly brutalised society
that has lost any sort of moral proportion. The RUC are shown as ineffectual and
indifferent and quite capable of beating up injured teenagers in petty acts of
revenge. Reid's main ire is saved for the IRA however, maintaining his
even-handed contempt for all paramilitaries, whether from his own Protestant
community, or in this case, among the Republican working-class. The priest's
furious speech, telling the IRA that the young criminals were "monsters that
they created" is certainly powerful. Even more so is the hypocrisy shown in the
IRA men's actions. The most loud-mouthed vigilante at the community meeting is
shown profiting from the stolen cars, and Reggie Devine, the
urbane, softly spoken IRA leader, cries crocodile tears over what the community
is doing to itself before getting boys kneecapped for pouring a bit of
paintstripper over his bonnet. Reid doesn't hide behind the platitude that the
general population is innocent of all this. Instead they are seen as deeply
complicit - demanding effective action and then not wanting to know the brutal
realities of vigilante action. Even the local women are actors in the violence,
tying Mary to a lamppost with a sign around her neck saying 'I am a Hood' and
pouring paint over her.
Reid's skill is in putting believable, morally complex characters into the
murky moral landscapes of Northern Ireland. There are no easy solutions
proffered, just a heartfelt humanist lament for wasted lives and the culture of
recrimination.
Phil Wickham
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1. Winding up the RUC (2:09)
