I'm not gonna lie. This film is weird. Especially towards the end. Ned goes crazy and there was no slow release into it. One second he was sticking up for his family the next he was gunning down coppers instead of walking around them (not to mention cutting off an ear!).
However, as someone who grew up in England, has an Irish family, and now lives in Northern Ireland, it did shake me up. To this day there is still 'trouble' between the Irish who want to be with the UK and the Irish that don't. I've had conversations at length with my family about it. But, this tension does cause problems with people from different areas around Ireland getting jobs much, like I think this film was trying to show (thought it wasn't clear).
So, personally it did have a message to me. I did feel a connection with the story. I'm struggling to explain that connection so, I'll move on to my other thoughts.
The acting was good. There were 3 actors in this film with whom I knew previous works well. Those were Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult and George MacKay. And I personally thought there performances were good.
I seen a lot from Charlie Hunnam and although I don't believe this was his strongest performance, he did genuinely make me scared, particularly when he arrested Red Kelly. Although, (I know this isn't the fault of the actor) he did seem to just vanish after Ned left Harry Power, which bugged me slightly.
Nicholas Hoult was much the same as Hunnam. Not his strongest character but, he did scare me. However, he was another character that seemed to just suddenly become crazy. And I do feel that his character wasn't really needed. The only addition to the story he created was to hook Ned up with Mary and he was the person to snap Ned's twig, so to say. But, we could've had Sgt O'Neil (Hunnam's Character) do that. I mean this version of the story wasn't true so, it's a change they could've made.
And final actor I know, George MacKay. He is a good actor. But, I didn't like him in this. There were moments where he stood out, and I thought his accent was decent (though it did waver at times). But, it was him going crazy, and wearing the dress, it just didn't feel like the Ned Kelly we met as a child. Now, people change but, this was just too quick of a change for me. This film hasn't changed my view of Mackay's abilities as I think my problems are more likely to do with the script or directing or even the editing (or all 3).
I saw one person suggest that this may have done better as a series. And I agree. Even if it was just a short series, sticking to the original idea (rather than pumping up the seasons to get more money out of a show people have forgotten about). The pacing to this film just didn't work as a film. And maybe that was my problem with Ned and Fitzpatrick going crazy so quickly. But, this fast pacing also left out information like:
This one might just be me but, I swear when Ned was a child there were more than 3 children but, when he comes home after 10 years, there is only Kate and Dan (who we didn't actually get fully introduced to when they were kids, or adults, which meant I personally didn't feel much for them).
Regardless, I do think this is a good watch. It might be one than you can only watch once and your happy but, it is worth it. You just need to keep an open mind.
However, as someone who grew up in England, has an Irish family, and now lives in Northern Ireland, it did shake me up. To this day there is still 'trouble' between the Irish who want to be with the UK and the Irish that don't. I've had conversations at length with my family about it. But, this tension does cause problems with people from different areas around Ireland getting jobs much, like I think this film was trying to show (thought it wasn't clear).
So, personally it did have a message to me. I did feel a connection with the story. I'm struggling to explain that connection so, I'll move on to my other thoughts.
The acting was good. There were 3 actors in this film with whom I knew previous works well. Those were Charlie Hunnam, Nicholas Hoult and George MacKay. And I personally thought there performances were good.
I seen a lot from Charlie Hunnam and although I don't believe this was his strongest performance, he did genuinely make me scared, particularly when he arrested Red Kelly. Although, (I know this isn't the fault of the actor) he did seem to just vanish after Ned left Harry Power, which bugged me slightly.
Nicholas Hoult was much the same as Hunnam. Not his strongest character but, he did scare me. However, he was another character that seemed to just suddenly become crazy. And I do feel that his character wasn't really needed. The only addition to the story he created was to hook Ned up with Mary and he was the person to snap Ned's twig, so to say. But, we could've had Sgt O'Neil (Hunnam's Character) do that. I mean this version of the story wasn't true so, it's a change they could've made.
And final actor I know, George MacKay. He is a good actor. But, I didn't like him in this. There were moments where he stood out, and I thought his accent was decent (though it did waver at times). But, it was him going crazy, and wearing the dress, it just didn't feel like the Ned Kelly we met as a child. Now, people change but, this was just too quick of a change for me. This film hasn't changed my view of Mackay's abilities as I think my problems are more likely to do with the script or directing or even the editing (or all 3).
I saw one person suggest that this may have done better as a series. And I agree. Even if it was just a short series, sticking to the original idea (rather than pumping up the seasons to get more money out of a show people have forgotten about). The pacing to this film just didn't work as a film. And maybe that was my problem with Ned and Fitzpatrick going crazy so quickly. But, this fast pacing also left out information like:
- Where's O'Neil?
- What happened to Kate when the boys ran away?
- Why did jail change Ned so much?
- Did George King leave (or was he killed?)
This one might just be me but, I swear when Ned was a child there were more than 3 children but, when he comes home after 10 years, there is only Kate and Dan (who we didn't actually get fully introduced to when they were kids, or adults, which meant I personally didn't feel much for them).
Regardless, I do think this is a good watch. It might be one than you can only watch once and your happy but, it is worth it. You just need to keep an open mind.