A Prayer for the Dying (1987)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

Mike Hodges

Writers:

Jack Higgins (novel)
Edmund Ward (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

11 September 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Plot:

Martin Fallon is an IRA bomber who tries to blow up a troop truck but instead kills a bus load of school children...

Plot Keywords:

Irish Republican Army | Blind Woman | England | Violence | Funeral

Cast

Mickey Rourke	...	Martin Fallon
Bob Hoskins	...	Father Michael Da Costa
Alan Bates	...	Jack Meehan
Sammi Davis	...	Anna
Christopher Fulford	...	Billy Meehan
Liam Neeson	...	Liam Docherty
Leonard Termo	...	Bonati
Camille Coduri	...	Jenny Fox
Maurice O'Connell	...	Superintendant Miller
Alison Doody	...	Siobhan Donovan
Karl Johnson	...	Fitzgerald
Ian Bartholomew	...	Kristou
Peggy Aitchison	...	Mrs. Orton
Cliff Burnett	...	Fred Varley
Anthony Head	...	Rupert

Runtime:

Germany:105 min | USA:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Canning Town, London, England, UK

Company:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Trivia:

John Scott composed a rejected score.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the beginning credit Liam Neeson is credited as Docherty. In most of the film everybody calls him Mulachy.

Quotes:

Anna: You turned your back on killing. So has Martin Fallon.
Father Michael Da Costa: I'm not so sure he has!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Boondock Saints (1999)

A Prayer for the Lying

Let's get things straight. I was raised Catholic, and in a very religious family, and spent as much time at church and talking to priests as at home. That was useful for two things: to make a convinced Atheist out of me, and to give me deep, insightful knowledge about the Church and its dogmas. And I say: if a Catholic priest witnesses a murder, and clearly sees the face of the killer, he CAN report it to the police, even if the murderer has confessed to him afterwards. He can not reveal what he's told in confession, but he CAN talk about anything he sees outside that, and confession is useless to keep his mouth shut. So, here we have a movie entirely sustained on a lie. And another lie is there's no absolution for murder. According to the Catholic Church, there's absolution for any sin as long as there's sincere repentance. So far, the biggest plot holes in this weak thriller.

As people frequently say, this movie would have improved if Bob Hoskins and Alan Bates had switched roles. Hoskins is naturally suitable to play gangsters (I will never lament enough that he lost Al Capone in favor of one of De Niro's weakest performances in "The Untouchables") and Bates' features would have been perfect as the priest with a gray past. But above that, I think the film would have been much better had real-life Ulster native Liam Neeson (back then mostly unknown to big audiences) played Mickey Rourke's part. Not only his face is perfect to play tormented characters, but he'd make us believe the character as real, something Rourke just can't. Back in the 80s, Rourke was not a bad actor (afterwards he seemed to lose his talent along with his looks), but he was one of those performers, like Brad Dourif, who's as good as the director he works with. And as a former IRA terrorist, Rourke's acting comes across more like a pimp. Sad to think that, had this movie been made just some three to six years later (when Neeson achieved moderate celebrity status in 1990 with Sam Raimi's enjoyable "Darkman", an superstardom in 1993 with "Schindler's List", while Rourke became pretty much of a forgotten has-been), Liam and Mickey could have switched parts to greater benefit (Rourke would have been effective in the supporting role of Docherty, but just can't carry this movie along as the lead). Yet another missed opportunity, and yet another film with the potential of being a classic, that became instantly forgettable fare.

Ironically enough, the often criticized score (by underrated composer Bill Conti) worked for me. I didn't find it overly-melodramatic, but suitably gritty and beautiful. It reminded me of Howard Shore's score for "The Silence of the Lambs". Here's to Mike Hodges' talent, who made "Get Carter", yes, but don't forget he's the mastermind behind "Flash Gordon" as well...

It seems the film was massacred in the cutting room (it shows, as some parts are really choppy and confusing, and others just don't glue) and a Director's Cut is waiting to see the light. OK, but I seriously doubt that will make it a great movie, as we'll still have the bad casting and the false premise there. 4/10.