John Boorman 

Ireland
 

His latest movie, The General, about the life of the legendary Dublin gangster Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson) who was killed by the IRA in 1994, floats deftly between these two poles.

The General is adapted from Paul Williams' book of the same name. Boorman's familiarity with Ireland (where he has kept a home for several years) makes the film rich in realistic texture. The dialogue is punchy, liberally sprinkled with local colloquialisms and wit. The locations and sets (from the dilapidated housing estates to the posh middle-class suburb Cahill moves to with his family) play a key role in contextualising the story. 

In one remarkable sequence, Cahill and his right-hand man, Noel Curley (Adrian Dunbar), escape from the police on a Harley Davidson, and their jaunty ride through the Victorian, low-rise Dublin backstreets forms a comic contrast to the kind of top-speed chases through wide Hollywood boulevards one usually sees in American films.

The General is also a film anchored quite firmly in a time when Irish society was changing significantly. As Boorman explains, "What gave [Cahill] his strength, I think, was that he was dealing with a society in Ireland that was very uncertain about itselfÉ about the Church, about politics, about where it stood in Europe."

Although it was probably an historical accident, with hindsight it seems significant that Cahill was killed on the eve of the first IRA Ceasefire. The central character can as easily trace his lineage back to the mythology of such classic gangster films as Underworld USA or White Heat as he can to Irish legends (there is a touch of Cagney about Gleeson's maniacal grin). 
Equally, the heist sequences and camraderie of the gang recall moments in The Killing or Mean Streets. Seamus Deasy's luminous black-and-white photography reinforces this sense of cinematic history while it also romanticises the story itself. Even the decrepit Hollyfield estate, from which Cahill refuses to budge, is given a certain majesty by the photography.

One of the best films Boorman has made, The General stands out not just for the assurance of its storytelling, but also for the deftness with which all of its elements lock together. Its craftsmanship is apparent on every level, from the nimbleness of Ron Davis' editing through to the evocative quality of Richie Buckleys' score to the excellent ensemble acting, particularly from Jon Voight as Cahill's nemesis Inspector, Ned Kenny, and Maria Doyle Kennedy and Angeline Ball as Cahill's wife and sister-in-law respectively. 

Made without a distribution deal in place, it is a film as independent in circumstances as it is in spirit. Leslie Felperin.