`Michael Collins' offers enjoyment, piece of history

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by Betsy Adams

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Not to worry, because the writer and director of the dramatic epic, Neil Jordan -- perhaps most famous for The Crying Game -- provides information for those of us who know little about the events leading up to the civil war in Ireland.

Oscar nominee Liam Neeson heads up the cast as the title character. He and a group of nationalists meet in the hopes of gaining recognition for an Irish republic. The members of the council elect Eamon De Valera (Alan Rickman) as president.

Collins learns from his British informant of the coming arrest of all council members, and when Collins alerts the council of the impending arrests, De Valera instructs the members not to flee; as a result, all but Collins and his second-in-command, Harry Boland (Aidan Quinn), are arrested. Every member of the council, except De Valera, who was born in the United States, is murdered.

While in jail, De Valera places Collins in charge. Angered by the deaths of his fellow nationalist, Collins believes the only way to get Britain's attention is through controlled measures of violence.

Using his contact, Ned Broy (Stephen Rea), Collins gains access to information on the top British officials in Dublin. He gathers a group of young nationalists -- men of 19 or 20 -- willing to do the dirty work in the name of Ireland, and so the killings begin.

They pedal through the streets of Dublin on bicycles, guns stowed under tweed coats, gunning down head members of the British government. As Collins' private army begins the attacks, he and Boland succeed in breaking De Valera out of prison.

De Valera regains control of the resistance movement, but the rift between Collins and De Valera begins. The president of the Irish Republic decides he and Harry Boland should go to America to gain the support of the president, but Collins stresses the need to continue the fight at home. De Valera goes to America for 18 months, during which time Collins becomes a sort of mythical hero at home. He is a mystery; no photos of him exist. Always one step ahead of the British government, he never is found by the British authorities.

De Valera and Boland return from the United States without the support they had sought. The killings in Ireland escalate until the huge slaughter known as Bloody Sunday. Britain calls for a cease fire and negotiations.

In October 1921, De Valera sends Collins -- a man with little political experience with whom the British cannot even identify -- to England, knowing full well that any treaty negotiated will not give Ireland the desired terms. Collins comes back with a less than satisfactory treaty, and the rift between De Valera and Collins, between the schools of Irish thought deepens. When the treaty is approved by vote, De Valera refuses to accept it, splitting Ireland. Months later the civil war breaks out. Collins and De Valera are on opposite sides.

Like most Hollywood epics , Michael Collins would not be complete without a love story -- in this case a love triangle among Collins, his closest friend Harry Boland and the charming Kitty Kiernan (Julia Roberts), who cares for them both.

The acting is excellent; Jordan provides good material. Collins does, however, become a little clichéd at times; his lines seem to have been said before, in other movies, by other nationalist leaders. The movie has been accused of being pro-IRA, but I would not agree. The violence ordered by both the British and Irish is portrayed equally.

Michael Collins is absolutely worth seeing.

This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the November 8, 1996 issue.

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