By 
’71 ****
Hiding in the darkness of an attic, from enemies he’s never met before, a young recently recruited and unprepared British soldier breaks down into tears. That doesn’t mean he’s weak, but instead, the tears rolling on his face demonstrates he must stand up to accomplish his mission: survive the war zone. With the bloody crisis reigning over the streets of Belfast, a clash between Catholics and Protestants, soldiers are rushed to control the area, but they are not aware of what’s waiting for them. They’re hostilized by both sides, being brutally attacked with stones and gunshots. As the situation becomes chaotic and out of control, the squad escapes from the worse, leaving the young man behind. What follows next is an intense, gripping and heart pounding experience, as the soldier runs all over, trying to save his own flesh and return home safe. He doesn’t know exactly why he’s running scared or why everyone is after him. He became the little prey of ravenous lions, emerging from everywhere: men, women and children are determined to get rid of him. This is no American Sniper, and in fact, it is much better. Our hero here has been sent on a mission to pacify a war zone, but is forced to fight for himself instead. He’s wounded, running out of time and energy, but he’s determined to maintain his promise of returning back home at any cost.
And for that, he must sweat a lot, lose lots of blood, and find himself in situations that remind him of what hell looks like. With the lack of reasonably good and interesting films playing in theaters, this British import is definitely your better choice of smart entertainment. The action-packed narrative is an example for Hollywood: it shows it is possible to make great war films, with intriguing stories without relying on visual effects or explosions. Here, director Yann Demange introduces his talent to the world, stating he’s one to be watched closely. He conducts the story with powerful hands, involving the audience with a mastery look on the soldier’s agony and despair, the devastating religious conflict among compatriots, the unstoppable and atmospheric sense of danger and unawareness throughout the narrative, the breathtaking tension of the cat-and-mouse story-type and the struggle of the soldier to remain faithful to integrity. And for handsome star Jack O’Connell, this is the vehicle that will launch his career overseas as the next Super Hero everyone will learn to love. Angelina Jolie tried that, casting him as the leading role in “Unbroken” but the film was too painful to be remembered. As the hopeless and compassionated soldier here, the first memorable character of 2015, O’Connell will definitely remain in moviegoers’ minds for years to come, with this fascinating breakthrough performance. (Opens Friday in NYC)
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