In Northern Ireland, 19-year-old Cal (John Lynch) is a driver for an IRA gang who kill an RUC constable. Already ambivalent in his allegiance to the cause, Cal struggles to extricate himself when he falls for Marcella (Helen Mirren), the Catholic wife of the murdered constable. When they become lovers, their relationship pushes Cal’s tenuous IRA loyalties to breaking point as they begin to form bonds that challenge the prevailing sectarian politics. In this faithful adaptation of Bernard McLaverty’s novella, O’Connor has painted a vivid picture of isolation and disenfranchisement of a young Catholic man in a film that argues for the triumph of romance over the brutality of a war that made normal life impossible. Mirren won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance.

Notes by Sunniva O’Flynn.