In the Name of the Father | Rotten Tomatoes

In the Name of the Father

R

Released Dec 12, 1993

2 hr. 12 min.

Biography

Crime

Drama

List

94%

50 Reviews

Tomatometer

95%

25,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Unemployed young Irishman Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) gets by as a petty thief in 1970s Belfast. When local IRA leaders get fed up with him, he flees to England and meets up with his friend Paul Hill (John Lynch). On the same night that the IRA bombs a nearby pub, the friends get kicked out of their communal digs and are forced to sleep in a park. He returns to Belfast, but is arrested as the prime suspect in the bombing and imprisoned, where he spends 15 years trying to clear his name.

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Critics Consensus

Impassioned and meticulously observed, In the Name of the Father mines rousing drama from a factual miscarriage of justice, aided by scorching performances and director Jim Sheridan's humanist focus.

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Jelisije J

An excellent biopic of a true story of a group of people who were wrongly accused of a bombing and how the british government tried to hide the fact that they were innocent.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/23/24

Full Review

Alec B

Well acted and appropriately angry but this is such a Hollywoodized version of what actually happened (complete with a crowd pleasing court room finale) that the movie undermines its own narrative. Something slower and quietly sad may have been less popular but it would probably be more of an effective tragedy.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/20/24

Full Review

Alec C

In the name of justice, the name of god and in the name of the father! Gerry Conlon is unjustly arrested for his supposed involvement of an IRA bombing and is arrested alongside his father, and they both fight to reclaim their freedom on the inside. Emotionally riveting and destroying, we learn of the true story of how two innocents fought against the system for the sake of being free!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/14/24

Full Review

Yash B

"In the Name of the Father" is a fierce and compelling film that is completely holstered by Daniel Day-Lewis' performance. I always think he is a phenomenal actor and this performance is no exception. I found myself truly sad by the story the movie presents and it is always upsetting for me to watch any sort of suffering of people I know are innocent. The movie has a striking first hour that had me completely strapped in. I do feel the pacing of the film slows down a bit after that, but it is still very engaging and well-acted. The movie ends in a very memorable way and I found myself moved by the storyline and what it was trying to say. Overall, it is a movie that is well worth seeing, and despite being a tough and frustrating one to watch at times, it is a shining piece of cinema from the 90s.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/24

Full Review

Dagny S

It's such a moving movie. A must see for people who are interested for the leftist history. It might come off as slow since it's an old movie but every minute worths it!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

07/08/23

Full Review

Maria P

I love this movie! Recently I showed it to my son who is 16. We had a long conversation about been in the wrong place and some how the life will pass over us and follow.. we can just watch and accept our reality o fight like Guissepe the father who never stopped believing and working for justice.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/23

Full Review

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Jim Sheridan

Director

Daniel Day-Lewis

Gerry Conlon

Pete Postlethwaite

Giuseppe Conlon

Emma Thompson

Gareth Peirce

John Lynch

Paul Hill

Corin Redgrave

Robert Dixon

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In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Dropping Acid in Prison

2:25

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - He Can't Breathe!

2:09

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Not to Be Shown to the Defense

3:19

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Prison Takeover

2:17

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - I'm Gonna Shoot Your Dad

2:12

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Firelight Vigil

1:49

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Trashing His Cell

2:09

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - I Will Fight On!

2:09

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - IRA Riot

3:12

In the Name of the Father: Official Clip - Improvised Flamethrower

2:19

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Jim Sheridan tells his gripping tale with a fury that stokes up an audience the way early Costa Gavras movies used to do.

Feb 15, 2018

Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Daniel Day-Lewis is remarkable.

Rated: 3.5/4

Feb 28, 2014

Full Review

Kenneth Turan

Los Angeles Times

In the Name of the Father is a model of this kind of engaged, enraged filmmaking, a politically charged Fugitive that uses one of the most celebrated cases of recent British history to steamroller an audience with the power of rousing, polemical cinema.

Feb 28, 2014

Full Review

Graeme Tuckett

Stuff.co.nz

In The Name Of The Father is a gritty, compelling and engrossing film. Day-Lewis is extraordinary, of course.

Jun 3, 2022

Full Review

Candice Russell

South Florida Sun-Sentinel

In the Name of the Father is a deeply stirring film that lessens the moral authority of the I.R.A., English soldiers in Ireland, the British police and the British government.

Feb 28, 2014

Full Review

People Magazine

If Sheridan didn't feel the need to pile on the pedantic subtexts, this would be an absorbing personal drama, rather than a vituperative, question-begging broadside.

Feb 28, 2014

Full Review

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Synopsis

Unemployed young Irishman Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis) gets by as a petty thief in 1970s Belfast. When local IRA leaders get fed up with him, he flees to England and meets up with his friend Paul Hill (John Lynch). On the same night that the IRA bombs a nearby pub, the friends get kicked out of their communal digs and are forced to sleep in a park. He returns to Belfast, but is arrested as the prime suspect in the bombing and imprisoned, where he spends 15 years trying to clear his name.

Director: Jim Sheridan
Executive Producer: Gabriel Byrne
Screenwriter: Terry George, Jim Sheridan
Distributor: Universal Pictures, Argentina Video Home
Production Co: Universal Pictures, Hell's Kitchen Films
Rating: R
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 12, 1993, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 10, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $24.6M
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo, DTS, Dolby

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