Here's one of my favorites to come out of Ireland from my favorite Irish writer/director.

"The Boxer" is about Danny Flynn, an Irishman in his thirties being released from an English prison. He's resided there for 13 years after being caught on an Irish Republican Army (IRA) operation. So, Danny returns home to Belfast where he meets his former boxing trainer Ike in a homeless shelter, and together they rebuild the gymnasium of the local community center.

The subplot is, Danny's old flame, Maggie, is the daughter of Joe Hamill, head of the IRA's army council, and has since married a fellow IRA soldier, also doing time. Now, the IRA is very protective of its POWs' wives, so hitting on one often could get you killed. So, at first, Danny stays away from her, but she soon starts reliving old feelings for him, and the two start meeting in secret.

Adding conflict is Harry, an IRA officer who was just passed over appointment to the council and very bitter about it. He has also lost a son to an IRA operation. His hate bleeds over to Danny, who now refuses to socialize with the IRA, and snubbed its other POWs while inside. The ending is very dramatic, believable and unformulated. Characters' motivations are relatively well established and gives the picture a high amount of credibility.

The picture itself sends mixed messages, pro and con, regarding IRA cease fire and an overall position on the war.

Daniel Day-Lewis (Gangs of New York) once again steps in as writer/director Jim Sheridan's (In America) leading man, Danny. Day-Lewis and Sheridan worked together previously on "In the Name of the Father" and "My Left Foot," which won Day-Lewis an Academy Award®. Sheridan's knack for giving a noticeable rhythm to heavy dialogue scenes gives the picture its intensity.

Emily Watson (Hilary and Jackie) plays Maggie and does well, but I've seen her have more complex characters and tear up the screen. This one, she does ample in. Brian Cox (X-Men 2) plays Hamill, and he of course is perfect in any Irish made picture.

My favorite performances came from Ken Stott (King Arthur) as Ike the trainer, an alcoholic who feels the IRA's antics have made a mess of his community and its youth, as well as Gerard McSorley (Angela's Ashes) as Harry, the bitter Irish officer. Stott did extremely well conveying his character's pride and pain for the town, while McSorley, in one of the bigger roles I've seen him in, is downright frightening. His passion for the IRA's position, coupled with the loss of his son from it, makes his character extremely complex. McSorley nails it down and builds a solid nemesis for this film. My hat is off to him.

As for director Sheridan, although this was a high achievement for him, I've seen more gripping films from him.

My biggest complaint of the picture is the sound mixing. Because of the lifestyle and constant watch IRA officers and soldiers must endure, they are always depicted as mumbling and practically whispering to each other. I appreciate the authenticity, but for a movie's soundtrack, it's a big strain on the viewer to hear some of the film's most important dialogue. My roommate had to watch it with the subtitles on.

My other problem with the picture is its ambiguous ending. Does Danny end up with Maggie? Yes. However, it's not clear where they end up. One of them says, "Let's go home," but home at that time was Belfast, and Flynn would surely be killed if they went back. On a DVD deleted scene, we see Danny, Maggie and her son Liam get on a boat to live in England where they are safe. Very weird. Why would you want your viewer to think your main character gets killed at some point after the story's end? Its interesting, and unfortunately a black eye on the ending for the film.

Otherwise, "The Boxer" is extremely well made, intense and dramatic. See it, if you can get past the Irish language. I say "language," since Irish actors playing Irish characters tend to mumble in their own code. I've seen enough Irish pics to understand them, but for those who haven't…good luck.

Benn - Where's the Humanity?