Divorcing Jack (1998)

There are two reasons why I wanted to see this movie: one of them was because it is a British black comedy, and because of the nun. Unfortunately the nun, who is really a nurse by day and a stripper by night, isn't a major character in the movie, but her appearances where still pretty cool, and there were plenty of gags around the nun to keep me amused. The movie was good enough to stand on its own anyway, the nun just made it more interesting.Divorcing Jack is a political, conspiracy, black British comedy and very much lived up to my expectations. It is based around a journalist, Don Starky, who invites a young, attractive university student back to his house for a party. Starky is already married, and is not interested in this girl, but she has other ideas and manages to get her wicked way with him. Unfortunately his wife finds him in the act and throws him out and he is forced to move in with the girl. Unfortunately he returns back from getting a Pizza to find that the girl has been murdered, and then accidentally kills her mother because he thinks she is the murder. Even worse, he discovers that the girl was the daughter and the woman the wife, of an Irish politician: in fact the treasurer. All of this is happening at a time when elections are being held and peace is being promised by the leading candidate. To add a further twist, the girl's ex-boyfriend is Billy Culgan, a rather nasty bankrobber and IRA soldier who is in gaol. Thus Starky becomes the prime suspect and is caught up in this political game.I guess this movie is about secrets, the truth, and how peace is really only a shallow lie that is used to cover up huge amounts of tension. This movie is a very strong mouthpiece that reports on the violence that is tearing Northern Ireland apart, and Don Starky is the person who controls the mouthpiece. A couple of times he comments of the number of names that Northern Ireland has because of the number of people that are competing over control of this small state: the British and the Irish, the Protestants and the Catholics. The Irish want freedom from the British, but under that there is a huge religious tension that is constantly ripping the country apart - and every time a peace plan comes along, it is only shortlived before something happens which rips the country apart again. It is interesting to note that Scotland and Wales are gaining their own parliaments now.The religious violence is interesting because people attack religion claiming that it is the major causes of wars. This I disagree with - it might be an excuse for a war but it generally is not the cause of a war. In this situation, it seems that the whole reason behind the Protestant - Catholic violence in Northern Ireland has been forgotten and they simply fight because they hate each other. I believe the reason stemmed back to the protestants being English and because the Irish hated the English they remained Catholic - but I can only gather this from the history books.Divorcing Jack is a very good movie about the pointlessness of violence, the lies and conspiracies that run riot through areas of unrest and giving us the idea that peace in Ireland is not just around the corner - it is built on centuries of prejudice and hatred and can't simply be solved by one smiling man.

I guess I should have read the back of the DVD box more carefully, but I was whiling away a Sunday afternoon, thinking I was watching kind of a cute social commentary, when WHAM blood and mayhem interrupted. Generally, the acting was pretty well done, and the casting was exceptional. The action and plot were well timed and involving. Thewlis is very likeable in a hard to figure way--you do keep wondering why his wife didn't leave him sooner, and why the lovely Margaret latched onto him so quickly, but you cannot, nevertheless, take your eyes off him when he's on screen. Laura Fraser is divertingly shapely and charming as Margaret. Laine Megaw does a good job as the long suffering Patricia. Rachel Griffiths was wasted in this effort.In general, an ok movie with some quite good acting that makes for a diverting couple of hours, but not exactly a masterpiece.

This is a good film for those who may be interested to see a realistic depiction of the situation in Northern Ireland. This movie is perhaps better understood and appreciated by Ulster folk, though, as it contains a lot of in-jokes that may go over the heads of viewers who are unfamiliar with our area. We who live here can really relate to the situations depicted in the film, as well as to the satire that is so typical of Bateman's work and which translated rather well to film. I believe this movie is misclassified as a thriller. It is a satire, a black comedy, and the thriller format is just a vehicle. The situations were dead on and hilarious (in a very dark way sometimes), and the accents were quite good, in general, with the exception of Robert Lindsay (Brinn) who sounded fake to my ear. The taxi driver was perhaps one of the most realistic characters in the film, and even though she was only seen a couple of times, she stole those scenes. Well acted, realistic, fast paced and quite a good look at our province.

One of the best films I've seen recently. Im really interested in the NI-conflict, but that didn't make any difference betwen the reactions between me and my friends who couldn't care less, we all loved it. The plot is great and it's really funny