After seeing his wife and young daughter gunned down by a British soldier during a riot in Belfast, Hennessy, (Rod Steiger), decides to blow up the state opening of Parliament by way of revenge. As you would.
As a revenge fantasy, Hennessy is fine, apart from the end. As a political thriller, it's laughable. To think the IRA would issue a contract on one of its own volunteers for attempting to kill the British head of state when ten years later it tried and came close to killing Margaret Thatcher demonstrates a lack of research and familiarity with the subject matter.
The renewed Troubles were only five years old at the time of filming, and film-makers are always looking for ways of giving us the same old same old in new surrounds - so Hennessy is nothing more than an old-fashioned thriller - implausible, slightly absurd and highly engaging - in no way does it ever address or seek to address the causes of conflict in the north. That comes as a welcome relief.
What I liked most about Hennessy the man were his bull-like qualities, his tenacity in the face of over-whelming odds, and the audacity of his revenge fantasy. By seeking to assassinate no less than the head of state he immediately revokes status - the pomp of the Queen's entourage is contrasted bleakly with his family's funeral procession on television. He is conspicuously missing - he has a job of work to do. As a man who strips wires for a living he inhabits all the subtleties of a tradesman - untiring, no-nonsense, get the job done...
This film outraged the establishment and liberal press in Britain, who wanted IRA men portrayed neither as heroes or anti-heroes, but criminals. But every country has its own establishment and in Ireland Hennessy is counted a hero, not because of what he did do, but because of what he didn't do - the death of his wife and child are real enough set against his non-act, let that stand.
Incidentally, don't miss the wonderful opening of this film which shows footage of Belfast city centre before it was demolished by redevelopers at the behest of the city council. The old town was a beautiful place - if you're ever in Belfast take a walk down Joy St and see the last remaining cultural architecture in the town. It's somewhat ironic that Hennessy's job is that of a demolition expert, and we first see him demolishing a piece of old Belfast by explosive. Maybe what goes around comes around, eh, Niall.
As a revenge fantasy, Hennessy is fine, apart from the end. As a political thriller, it's laughable. To think the IRA would issue a contract on one of its own volunteers for attempting to kill the British head of state when ten years later it tried and came close to killing Margaret Thatcher demonstrates a lack of research and familiarity with the subject matter.
The renewed Troubles were only five years old at the time of filming, and film-makers are always looking for ways of giving us the same old same old in new surrounds - so Hennessy is nothing more than an old-fashioned thriller - implausible, slightly absurd and highly engaging - in no way does it ever address or seek to address the causes of conflict in the north. That comes as a welcome relief.
What I liked most about Hennessy the man were his bull-like qualities, his tenacity in the face of over-whelming odds, and the audacity of his revenge fantasy. By seeking to assassinate no less than the head of state he immediately revokes status - the pomp of the Queen's entourage is contrasted bleakly with his family's funeral procession on television. He is conspicuously missing - he has a job of work to do. As a man who strips wires for a living he inhabits all the subtleties of a tradesman - untiring, no-nonsense, get the job done...
This film outraged the establishment and liberal press in Britain, who wanted IRA men portrayed neither as heroes or anti-heroes, but criminals. But every country has its own establishment and in Ireland Hennessy is counted a hero, not because of what he did do, but because of what he didn't do - the death of his wife and child are real enough set against his non-act, let that stand.
Incidentally, don't miss the wonderful opening of this film which shows footage of Belfast city centre before it was demolished by redevelopers at the behest of the city council. The old town was a beautiful place - if you're ever in Belfast take a walk down Joy St and see the last remaining cultural architecture in the town. It's somewhat ironic that Hennessy's job is that of a demolition expert, and we first see him demolishing a piece of old Belfast by explosive. Maybe what goes around comes around, eh, Niall.