When the Sky Falls **** (2000, Joan Allen, Gerard Flynn, Patrick Bergin, Liam Cunningham, Kevin McNally, Pete Postlethwaite) – Classic Movie Review 3336

Director John Mackenzie’s first-rate 2000 thriller stars Joan Allen as Dublin reporter Sinead Hamilton, who dices with death to pursue the story of an evil crime boss (Gerard Flynn).

The admirable Allen effortlessly carries this able, gripping, well-meaning, fictionalised retelling of the 1996 true tale of Veronica Guerin. Cate Blanchett played the character again in Veronica Guerin (2003).

Also in the cast are Patrick Bergin, Liam Cunningham, Kevin McNally, Pete Postlethwaite, Jimmy Smallhorne, Jason Barry, Des McAleer, Owen Roe, Gavin Kelty, Vincent Walsh, Rúaidhrí Conroy, Liam Carney and Frank Grimes.

John Mackenzie, died after a stroke on June 8 2011, aged 78, graduated from TV on to make movies, notably his superb London-based gangster picture, The Long Good Friday (1980).

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3336

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/