In this film that confronted the violence and sectarian divisions in Northern Irish society, a reluctant IRA man struggles to extricate himself from his allegiances when he falls for one of his victims. The IRA man is Cal (John Lynch), a teenage gunman attracted  towards  terrorist activity  by his friends rather than by his beliefs. His meeting with Marcella (Helen Mirren), the wife of his one of his victims, pushes his uncertain loyalties to breaking point as they begin to form bonds that challenge the prevailing  sectarian politics. Mirren won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in a film that argues for the triumph of romance over the brutality of a war that made normal life impossible.