The Devil's Own

The Devil's Own is a likeable and well-made thriller whose makers have tried to incorporate a rather serious theme into an otherwise typical Hollywood production. In the film, the Irish freedom struggle moves to Brooklyn, N.Y. in the shape of the handsome young Irishman Rory Devaney, whose true identity is Frankie McGuire, most wanted IRA soldier. Frankie is too sought after by the British police to be able to do anything sensible in Ireland, but in the USA he ought to be able to buy a shipment of Stinger missiles in peace and quiet, to be shipped home by boat to the IRA.

Frankie is lodged with the unsuspecting policeman Tom O'Meara and becomes a good friend of the family, which also includes Tom's wife and three daughters. Frankie's mission is no job for wimps, however, for British intelligence picks up Tom's scent, but greater damage is done by the cynical arms dealer Billy Burke, whose men raid Tom's house to find the weapons money. No one is hurt, but Frankie gains yet another enemy in Tom, who insists on having Frankie put in irons – alive – for he has little faith in the methods of the British.

The ending, which takes the form of a showdown between Tom and Frank, who have almost become father and son, may not amount to a great climax, but it has the courage to have an ending that is in its way tragic. As Frankie points out several times during the film, this is an Irish story, not an American one.

The issues in Northern Ireland are too complicated for a Hollywood production like The Devil's Own to treat them other than superficially. The film tries to remain reasonably neutral towards the subject, which can be an advantage, since the audience is then given the opportunity to take a stand on Frankie's and Tom's respective ideals.