A Belfast Story

The director of this Belfast-set, Troubles-themed thriller was forced to make a squirming apology after a PR cock-up last month: he sent out a promo pack containing a balaclava and nails to film critics. Don’t go expecting anything much smarter from his film. Colm Meaney (last seen going postal in ‘Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa’) is the best thing here as a detective investigating the assassinations of ex-IRA men. He’s one of those shabby-mac, philosophical, soon-to-retire maverick sorts. But the script isn’t nearly clever enough for that, leaving Meaney to convey a lot with his eyebrows.

The acting is ropey in places, with characters talking in wildly unconvincing fully formed speeches. A first minister with IRA links looks a likely next target for the killers. Who’s responsible: loyalists or dissident republicans? Meaney has a hunch it’s a personal vendetta. As a snapshot of modern Belfast, the point is that horrors of the past are still present, but honestly, this isn’t exactly awash with moral ambiguity.