In the Name of the Father (1993) (2nd time)

Based on the true story of Gerry Conlon, a Belfast man who - along with family members and friends - was wrongly convicted of bombing two pubs outside of London. [imdb]

Nominated for 7 Oscars:

Best Picture
Best Director: Jim Sheridan
Best Actor: Daniel Day-Lewis
Best Supporting Actor: Pete Postlethwaite
Best Supporting Actress: Emma Thompson
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Editing

I am sometimes bothered when a true story film is not as true as it's campaigned to be. This one goes into that category, as I understand, reading some trivia, that much was changed for an easier adaptation of the subject. But beyond that, In the name... still remains an uncomfortable film and I dreaded having to see it again, because I have problems sitting through movies involving massive injustice. But surprisingly enough, the first part was much better than I remembered it to be.

This time, I had more appreciation for Jim Sheridan's sharp, clean direction and I guess the first scene justifies his Oscar nomination. Daniel Day-Lewis is also better than I remembered, and even though I'm not his biggest fan, I respect his work a lot and he really really gives a very good performance. Excellent year for Best Actor. The supporting actor nomination feels worthy and I would've wanted Emma to have more screentime. She's a nice presence, but she appears in the least interesting part of the film. Yes, the film gets boring towards the end and even the screenplay (so nicely structured in the beginning) becomes shakey, with those final trial moments hard to believe as they're shown (how can you use in a British trial a document stolen from the police files, not shown to the other side and a judge accepts it as proof?!)

My rating for the film: 7.5/10. It would've been an 8, but the ending was blah. Yet, the opening scene is really memorable.