Why
would anyone want to kill Veronica Guerin?
Okay...I'm going to say something harsh. I've
been trying to hold it in...but, I simply can't
hold it in any longer. If the real Veronica
Guerin was anything like the Guerin portrayed by
Cate Blanchett in this Joel Schumacher directed
film based on her life...well, there's no gentle
way to say it...quite frankly, she deserved to
be assassinated.
Now, before you go accusing me of being cruel
you have to understand that I don't actually
believe that Veronica Guerin was like the
Blanchett portrayal. I don't see it as possible.
The publicity for this film would have you
believe that Guerin was a courageous,
inspirational Irish journalist who confronted
the drug trade in Ireland and paid for it
dearly.
Blanchett's "Guerin" is anything but courageous.
Blanchett's Veronica Guerin is ignorant,
narcissistic, stupid and, worst of all,
downright whiny. I mean, sure, I know Schumacher
wants us to realize that she was the "good guy"
in this film...she deserved our sympathy. Didn't
he realize that he would have gotten this
without making her out to be a sniveling baby
everytime she gets hit or attacked? I know...I
know...it hurts to be physically attacked...it
hurts to have your life threatened...your
child's welfare threatened...but, geez...I kept
expecting at some point during the film that
Guerin would become this super-strong,
super-vigilant reporter. She never really
did...beyond actually knowing how the story
transpired, how could I possibly be surprised?
Blanchett's Guerin constantly acted whiny,
fearful and ignorant even as she was doing
supposedly courageous things. It just drove me
nuts.
Odd lead portrayal aside, there are things to
like about this film. While I don't like where
this character when, I liked Blanchett's
performance. Though, once again, I couldn't help
but keep looking back to Meryl Streep's "Silkwood"
performance and how much more brilliant it was
in similar circumstances.
I have to fault the direction of Schumacher for
many of the problems here...It takes a truly bad
director to take such an incredible story and
turn it into a merely average film. The film
hits you over the head with its "Irish" tones,
including music that borders on obnoxious.
Kudos to Gerard McSorley in a supporting role as
a drug kingpin, however, beyond his and
Blanchett's Golden Globe nominated performance I
mostly feel like this film was a missed
opportunity to put together a powerhouse film.
©
Written by Richard Propes
TC Candler's Comment
N/A
Jacob
Hall's Comment
N/A
