| Fifty Dead Men Walking | |
|---|---|
US poster |
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| Directed by | Kari Skogland |
| Produced by | Kari Skogland Stephen Hegyes Peter La Terriere Shawn Williamson |
| Written by | Kari Skogland |
| Starring | Jim Sturgess Ben Kingsley Rose McGowan Kevin Zegers |
| Cinematography | Jonathan Freeman |
| Distributed by | Brightlight Pictures Handmade Films |
| Release date(s) | August 21, 2009 USA |
| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom Canada |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £6,000,000 |
Fifty Dead Men Walking is a 2008 English-language crime thriller film written and directed by Kari Skogland. It is a loose adaptation of Martin McGartland's 1997 autobiography of the same name. It premiered in September 2008, and stars Jim Sturgess as Martin McGartland, an informant within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA), and Ben Kingsley as Fergus, his British handler.
The film is set from 1987 until 1991, the time in which McGartland acted as an undercover informant within the IRA during The Troubles. In 1991 his cover was blown and he was kidnapped by the IRA, although he later escaped and went into hiding.
At the time of the release of the film McGartland was still in hiding. The film takes its name from McGartland's claim within his book to have saved the lives of fifty people during his time as an informant.[1]
Martin McGartland disowned the film as was reported in the Sunday Times on March 29, 2009. Martin told the Sunday Times that "they are saying it was based on a true story, but what is the definition of 'based on a true story'? Is it 50% true, 70% true, 10%?" The Sunday Times further reported that McGartland contended "that the movie is fundamentally a lie that misrepresents his career and his motivation. He believes that if Kari Skogland, the director, had stuck closer to the account he gave in his book and in a BBC documentary, then she would have had a better film."[2]
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Martin McGartland (Jim Sturgess) is a 21-year-old street hustler from Northern Ireland, living in the 1980s. The Irish Republican Army wants to recruit him, but he is reluctant because of what he sees as their cruel justice. Because of his connection to the community, the British police want him to infiltrate and spy on the IRA. Marty agrees because of the car and money he gets from the police and because he dislikes the IRA. The IRA accepts him as a Volunteer and in that position he learns of various planned attacks. He then informs Fergus, his police contact, to prevent these attacks. He builds up a new sense of self-esteem, but he cannot tell his family and friends about his activities. Even his new girlfriend Lara (Nathalie Press) only notices that he seems to do some work for the IRA, which worries her.
All along, the British accept the risk that the IRA may discover that Marty works for them. They do not plan to rescue him in that case. When it happens, the IRA capture and torture Marty, but he manages to escape by throwing himself out of a window. His handler Fergus is now his only ally--he finds him and helps him hide. Fergus offers to arrange for Marty and Lara and their children to live in Scotland but Marty realises that she would never be able to feel safe. He then goes on the run to Canada alone, leaving his family behind. As shown at the start of the film, he is shot there by the IRA and survives. It should be noted that Martin McGartland himself had stated in the media that, "The film is as near to the truth as earth is to Pluto."[3] He also wrote a letter to a newspaper[4] in which he wrote, "It is on public record that I was already an established Security Services agent for two years before I made contact with the IRA, having been recruited by British intelligence to infiltrate the organisation."
McGartland, an Irish Catholic, was arrested by the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) police in 1987 at age 16 for a petty crime. After that arrest, he agreed to infiltrate the IRA and pass information on their activities under the codename Agent Carol to the RUC Special Branch which dealt with counter terrorism activities.[1] For his information, he was later described as "one of the RUC's most important agents inside the IRA's Belfast Brigade during the early Nineties."[5] In 1991 his cover was blown and he was kidnapped by the IRA to be interrogated and killed.[5] He escaped by leaping from a third-floor window and fled to England, receiving money to set up a new life in North East England.[5]
Martin McGartland's autobiography was a best seller, and he released a follow up about his time on the run.[5] In 1997 he came to press attention after Northumbria Police revealed his address in open court when they attempted to prosecute him for holding two driving licenses, he was found not guilty after just 10 minutes by a jury. The jury accepted that he required both documents to evade discovery from the IRA who were trying to trace and kill him. Also in 1997 the BBC made a short documentary on him that gave details of his fight with MI5 and Northumbria Police for a new identity. It also detailed his time on the run.
In 1999, he survived being shot six times in an attack outside his home in Whitley Bay.[5] He stated that the IRA had been responsible. Months after the shooting it emerged that the RUC had linked the gun used to shoot McGartland to the murder of a drug dealer in Northern Ireland, both men were murdered by the IRA.[5] Two convicted IRA terrorists were arrested for his attempted murder, both were released without charge.[6] He alleged the British Government was covering up the IRA's involvement to preserve the ceasefire declared by them in 1997. He successfully sued several media outlets for falsely claiming at the time that the attempt on his life had come about due to his links to a Northeast drugs gang, he was paid over £200,000 in damages after each of the newspapers accepted that the claims were baseless and untrue.[7] Hollwood actress Rose McGowan has said she would have been an IRA terrorist if she had lived through the troubles[8]
Man on the Run was a working title for the film. Casting was completed in November 2007.[9] Filming began on location in the Co. Down villages of Killough and Ardglass in late October 2007 and went on until December 2007.[10]
The film premiered[11] on 4 September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada.[12] Since then it has screened at the 2009 Kingston Canadian Film Festival. It is set to be theatrically released in Finland, the UK, and the Netherlands. The UK premiere was held on the 4th of April 2009 in Belfast, where the film was shot. Jim Sturgess was unable to attend, as was Sir Ben Kingsley, who recorded a video message for the audience to thank them for attending. Phoenix23, the Belfast band who recorded three tracks for the soundtrack; "Hit the Ground Running", "Its a Blast" and "Hurricane" were in attendance. The film went on general release in the UK on 10 April 2009.
Roger Ebert gave Fifty Dead Men Walking three out of four stars.[13] Empire Magazine awarded the film three out of five stars and praised Sturgess' performance, although they noted that "some stylistic slip-ups let him down a little."[14] The Guardian awarded the film three out of five stars and said "producer-director Kari Skogland has put together an effective, if cinematically unambitious, enterprise."[15]
On the basis of Canadian involvement in its financing, Fifty Dead Men Walking was nominated for Best Canadian Film at the 30th Genie Awards in 2010.[16]