An IRA hitman agrees to carry out one final assassination in exchange for a new identity in England. When a priest witnesses one of his crimes, he faces a dilemma, as he cannot bring himself to kill the cleric, but faces imprisonment if he does not.
Sadly, those involved in this political thriller could never decide what they wanted to make of Jack Higgins’s novel about the moral dilemma of the priest unable to shop an IRA terrorist because he has identified himself in the confessional.
Director Franc Roddam left the project before shooting began, allegedly because he saw it as an “Irish Rambo“. He was replaced at short notice by Mike Hodges, who disowned the released film.
The end result works relatively well as a fast-paced action adventure, but it is certainly shallow and melodramatic, and Bob Hoskins is hard to take as the priest.
As the terrorist, Mickey Rourke was also unpopular, though his Belfast accent isn’t at all bad.
Martin Fallon
Mickey Rourke Father Da Costa
Bob Hoskins Jack Meehan
Alan Bates Liam Docherty
Liam Neeson Anna
Sammi Davis Billy
Christopher Fulford Siobhan Donovan
Alison Doody
Director
Mike Hodges
Video
Related Posts
Gorky Park (1983) Arkady Renko (William Hurt), Chief Investigator of the Moscow Militia, stumbles upon three frozen corpses in Gorky Park one icy…
Man From Snowy River, The (1982) Born and orphaned in the Australian "high country", Jim Craig (Tom Burlinson) is sent to the Harrison lowland farm where…
Rude Boy (1980) England 1978. The mood is of disillusion, economic decline, political failure. Fascists demonstrate in the street. The left-wing clash with the…
Light Of Day (1987) Joe Rasnick (Michael J Fox) scrapes together a living and plays in a band (the Barbusters) in his spare time…
Border, The (1982) Jack Nicholson brings much richness to his stiff characterisation of Charlie Smith - a border patrol officer in El Paso…
Psychedelic Priest, The (1971) Father John (John Darrell) begins to question his faith after he accidentally ingests some LSD given to him in a…
Prizzi's Honor (1985) Jack Nicholson enjoys himself enormously as Charley Partanna, a hitman for the powerful Prizzi family, a leading New York Mafia…
Drugstore Cowboy (1989) This provocative and downbeat drama set in early 1970s Oregon looks at the sordid life of four junkies who rob…
