`In the Name of the Father' peels British legal system

JAKARTA (JP): Jailed for a crime they did not commit, a father and his estranged son fight and get to know each other before they find love, albeit a little bit late. The two are unjustly found guilty of killing five people in the l974 IRA bombings of two London pubs in Guildford.

Based on Proved Innocent, the autobiography of Gerry Conlon, Jim Sheridan's In The Name Of The Father glaringly exposes a black and ugly spot in the British legal system.

Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis (My Left Foot) plays Gerry Conlon, Pete Postlethwaite plays his father Giuseppe, while Emma Thompson portrays their dauntless solicitor Gareth Peirce.

The film was nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award and the three performers were respectively nominated for the Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress Oscars.

The "Guildford Four" - Conlon, Paul Hill (John Lynch), Carole Richardson (Beatie Edney) and Paddy Armstrong (Mark Sheppard) were released -- after 15 years in prison.

The ailing Giuseppe died behind bars.

The film depicts the stupidity and bad qualities of Conlon. The director has apparently not tried to soften the brutality of the interrogators.

Day-Lewis's Conlon sobs like a child in the interrogation room and acts like a lout when he's making fun of British troops in northern Ireland.

After a short-lived reunion, Conlon again distances himself from Giuseppe as he comes under the influence of Joseph McAndrew (Don Baker), the real bomber of the Guildford pubs.

In the end, it is McAndrew's fanaticism that makes Conlon aware of his father's towering strength.

In the role of a crusading lawyer who is seemingly averse to makeup and eye catching apparel, Emma Thompson's brief appearance in a shockingly blistering courtroom climax is memorable.

While audiences may be thrilled at the right-over-might conquest, one wonders why no police officers have been indicted.

--Tony Ryanto