Genre: Crime/Thriller/Drama
Director: Kari Skogland
Cast: Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Zegers, Natalie Press, Rose Mcgowan, Tom Collins, William Houston
RunTime: 1 hr 57 mins
Released By: Shaw
Rating: M18
Official Website: http://www.fiftydeadmenwalkingmovie.com

Opening Day: 9 July 2009 (Exclusively at The Picturehouse)

Synopsis:

Inspired by Martin McGartland's shocking real life story, Martin is a young lad from west Belfast in the late 1980s, recruited by the British Police to spy on the IRA. He works his way up the ranks as a volunteer for the IRA whist feeding information to his British handler and saving lives in the process; until one day he is exposed, captured and tortured to within an inch of his life. He escaped dramatically by throwing himself from a tower block window and is still in hiding today.

Movie Review:

For decades, the spy movie genre has been generally epitomized by the James Bond series, glamourizing the perks and pleasures associated with being a secret agent while ignoring the inner fear of blowing one's cover alongside the struggle to lead a double life. It is only in recent years that the genre is given a more realistic take with films such as "Lust, Caution", "Black Book" and of course, the ones with perhaps the highest profile of them all, "The Departed" and its Hong Kong source material, the "Infernal Affairs" trilogy. Just when this particular approach appears to be heading towards the doldrums, along comes "Fifty Dead Men Walking" to keep the genre alive.

Written and directed by Kari Skogland, the film is loosely adapted from Martin McGartland's same-titled autobiography which chronicles the life of Martin, played by Jim Sturgess, from the late 80s till the early 90s. Martin was then a young Irish who first started out as a swindler caught by the British Police before being convinced to be their spy to infiltrate and put an end to the operations of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). At the time, the IRA was a rebellious group intent on ending British rule in Ireland, therefore waging war against the British Police. Once Martin has stepped into the field of espionage, he finds himself caught between the opposing sides while trying to maintain a normal life with his girlfriend Lara. It was only a matter of time before the IRA discovered where his allegiance truly belonged. Having sampled the treatment of their torture brigade, Martin's survival instinct aided him a great deal for him to escape their clutches and go into hiding.

Those expecting action-packed sequences akin to the James Bond movies are in for a downer: there aren't that many adrenaline rush moments to be seen here. With the exception of one chase scene before Martin's eventual recruitment by the British Police, the rest of the film focuses more on drama and dialogue. However, "Fifty Dead Men Walking" is by no means a dull movie. Tension can still be felt from the numerous conflicts between Martin and the people around him as well as the close calls he had to go through to keep his secret safe.

Entrusted with the task of holding the entire film together in the main role, Jim Sturgess (best known for being the lead actor in the Beatles musical film "Across the Universe") plays it straight in portraying Martin as a sympathetic figure. We feel his pain of concealing the true nature of his work from Lara in order to protect her. Sturgess is ably supported by Ben Kingsley who as Martin's handler becomes the only man Martin can fully trust. Former child star Kevin Zegers seems to have established himself as a serious actor with his role as Martin's close friend in the IRA. Rose McGowan makes a surprise appearance here as a high-ranking IRA member with the potential to provide more friction to the already strained relationship between Martin and Lara, but her limited screen time does not give her much chance to impress. It is also interesting to note that both Zegers and McGowan are able to slip into their characters with ease due to their mastering of the Irish accent which we rarely see them speak onscreen.

Considering this is Kari Skogland's foray into the action thriller genre, the lack of experience on her part is quite apparent as far as the action is concerned, especially in the aforementioned chase scene. Skogland has fallen prey to the dreaded 'shakycam syndrome' where the extensive use of camera shaking to simulate real-time action works to the film's detriment, possibly invoking brief feelings of nausea for some viewers.

Thankfully, this shortcoming is forgivable given that Skogland has made up for it with her superbly written screenplay. She has taken great care not to glorify or demonize both the IRA and the British Police, depicting them as people with souls who would give everything for their respective causes. As a result, the film has more depth than the average spy movie since there are no clear-cut villains. Minor flaws are still evident though, such as when Skogland has elected to begin the film with a cliffhanger scene in which we see Martin getting shot multiple times during his later years of hiding, only to transport us to Martin's flashback of his spying days. This approach defuses some of the suspense that would have been felt if viewers had already known Martin's fate beforehand through the autobiography or even the film's synopsis. Fortunately, the film is captivating enough that viewers may almost forget this. The other gripe I have with the film is the fact that there is not enough exploration into either one of the fifty people Martin claimed in his book to have saved during his time as an informant which inspired the title of both the book and the film. It would have been an icing on the cake if at least one of the fifty people were fleshed out further.

Nitpicks aside, "Fifty Dead Men Walking" is definitely worth a watch for those who had wished for a more down-to-earth spy movie. Don't be put off by the creepy-sounding title and mistake it for a horror movie or a related feature to the 1995 Oscar-winning drama "Dead Men Walking". As an added bonus, the filmmakers are considerate enough to include English subtitles for those who have difficulty understanding British and Irish accents. Here's hoping that this film can serve as a template for future spy movies.

Movie Rating:



(A gripping portrayal of a real-life secret agent with no gadgets and shaken martini in sight)

Review by Tan Heng Hau