Episode 184 - In The Name Of The Father (1993) Reel Britannia podcast

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Episode 184 - In The Name Of The Father (1993)

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Episode 184- In The Name Of The Father (1993)

"You got 15 years of blood and sweat and pain from my client - whose only crime was that he was bloody well Irish. And he was foolish, and he was in the wrong place at the wrong time!"

Based on the powerful true story of the Guildford Four, In the Name of the Father (1993) is a gripping legal and personal drama chronicling a devastating miscarriage of justice during "The Troubles" in 1970s England.

The film centers on Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis), a petty thief from Belfast. To escape the escalating violence, his father sends him to London. While Gerry and his friend Paul Hill are squatting in a flat, an IRA bomb explodes at a pub in Guildford, killing five people. Under intense pressure to secure convictions, the British police, led by Inspector Robert Dixon, arrest Gerry and Paul as prime suspects.

What follows is a harrowing interrogation. Gerry is subjected to days of psychological torture, threats, and violence, eventually breaking down and signing a false confession. This confession is then used to implicate not only himself and Paul but also two others (the "Guildford Four") and, shockingly, members of Gerry's own family who had no connection to the crime, including his asthmatic, law-abiding father, Giuseppe (Pete Postlethwaite). This group becomes known as the "Maguire Seven."

Despite glaring inconsistencies and the lack of physical evidence, the coerced confessions are enough to convict them. Gerry and his father are sentenced to life in prison.

The film's focus then shifts to their 15-year incarceration. The volatile Gerry and the devout, peaceful Giuseppe share a cell, their strained relationship evolving into a profound bond of love and shared resilience. Giuseppe works tirelessly from prison to prove their innocence, while Gerry struggles with despair. They even encounter the actual IRA bomber, who confesses to the crime, but the authorities refuse to reopen the case, burying the new evidence.

Giuseppe eventually dies in prison, which galvanizes Gerry. He begins working with a determined solicitor, Gareth Peirce (Emma Thompson). Peirce meticulously re-examines the case and, after a long fight, uncovers crucial files that the prosecution deliberately withheld from the defense—evidence that contained an alibi proving Gerry's innocence.

In a dramatic climax, the case is brought back to court, the police corruption is exposed, and the convictions of the Guildford Four are finally quashed. Gerry Conlon emerges from the courthouse a free man, vowing to clear his father's name.

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Thanks for listening

Scott and Steven

182 episodes

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