125 mins/1997

    Martin Cahill grew up in Hollyfield, a Dublin slum, where crime was a way of life. Abused by the church and the police, he developed a deep resentment against authority and spent his life trying to embarrass the establishment. A series of daring robberies won him the title ‘The General’, and he continues to live outside the system, thanks to the loyalties of the local people.

    Then at the behest of his wife, Frances, and her sister Tina (with whom he has also fathered children), Martin buys a house in a middle class district and comes under the scrutiny of tax officials. Cahill overreaches himself when he and his gang steal paintings from the Beit collection, including the only Vermeer in private ownership. Despite ill health and the enormous strain of sparring with Inspector Ned Kennedy and his force of 90 policemen, Martin continues to elude the law.

    His nemesis comes only when he defies the IRA whom he regards as just another face of authority..

Credits:-

Directed by John Boorman

Cast:

Brendan Gleeson (Martin Cahill), Adrian Dunbar (Noel Curley), Sean McGinley (Gary), Maria Doyle Kennedy (Frances), Angeline Ball (Tina), Jon Voight (Inspector Ned Kennedy)

    John Boorman started his career in the dry-cleaning business and went on to writing film reviews for radio and editing films for provincial TV studios until he joined the BBC and distinguished himself as an innovative documentary film maker. In 1965 he made his debut as a feature film director with Catch Us If You Can. Since then he has worked in England and the USA and made several highly acclaimed films like Deliverance, Excalibur, The Emerald Forest, Hope and Glory, Where the Heart Is, I Dreamt I Woke Up, Beyond Rangoon and Two Nudes Bathing.