It’s easy to understand why Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast,” which is still playing in theatres, is the front-runner for the Academy Award for Best Picture. This year’s films may be larger, more expensive, and showier, but none cuts a straighter, more honest road to the heart than “Belfast.”
In 1969, riots in the streets wrecked Buddy’s joyful upbringing, and by implication, his own. The Troubles pitted neighbor against neighbor, a war Buddy scarcely comprehends between Protestants loyal to the United Kingdom and Catholics ready to revolt and join Ireland.
Buddy’s Protestant parents, portrayed brilliantly by Catriona Balfe and Jamie Dornan, want a peaceful life for their children. However, the family was compelled to flee their cherished home for the safety of England due to the appalling savagery, which was brilliantly captured by Branagh. Buddy was heartbroken by the choice.
And it is this shattered childhood that is at the heart of this gentle behemoth of a film. Despite the brutality, you’re captivated by Buddy’s relationship with his Ma and Pa, his elder brother (Lewis McAskie), and his grandparents, portrayed by Judi Dench and Ciarán Hinds, respectively.
Hinds is both humorous and poignant, a superb performer who has been underappreciated for far too long. And Dornan, free of the s&m sex trap of the “50 Shades of Grey” trilogy, expands on his virtuoso portrayal in “The Fall” to display an actor of ferocity and passion as he infuses Pa with seething intensity and quiet power.
In a word, Balfe, the brilliant star of “Outlander,” is wonderful. She discovers surprising dimensions in this woman, who is imprisoned at gunpoint yet manages to keep her family together despite conflict and suffering. If you believe former models Balfe and Dornan are incongruously attractive to play working-class parents, you’re underestimating Buddy’s opinion.
Branagh, 60, is the star of “Belfast,” and while he does not appear in the picture, his presence can be felt in every shot. There’s no mention of the A-lister Buddy had become from 1989’s “Henry V” to his upcoming reprise as Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in “Death On the Nile,” except for a shot of Buddy reading a comic book about Thor— Branagh directed Marvel’s 2011 film adaptation—no there’s mention of the A-lister he’d become from 1989’s “Henry V” to his upcoming reprise as Belgian detective Hercule Po
Nonetheless, the arts have a strong effect. When Buddy’s family settles down to see the dinosaurs and Raquel Welch in “One Million Years B.C.” and the flying automobile in “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” or attend a theatre presentation of “A Christmas Carol,” the screen comes alive with color.
Above all, “Belfast” is imbued with affection for Branagh’s home. It’s his greatest and most intimate picture, a moving coming-of-age classic that will resonate with anybody who has had to say goodbye to their youth.