Veronica Guerin (2003)

Wonderful character development!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

best movie i've ever seen.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

In 1996 Dublin, hard charging reporter Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) is attacked on the road. Two years earlier, she started writing about the rampaging spread of drugs in Ireland. Her main source of information is underworld character John Traynor (Ciarán Hinds). His boss John Gilligan (Gerard McSorley) isn't too happy that he keeps talking to the pretty journalist. She tries to balance her family life with her kids and the dangerous world of drugs in her work.The story is a little scattered and director Joel Schumacher is barely able to corral a coherent story. Luckily, this is more of a character study and Blanchett makes her a fascinating character. She has no off switch and supremely confident. Along with Hinds and McSorley, they save the movie from Schumacher's TV level work.

The film itself is quite dependent on its lead actress. It's a film of questionable choices (those last five minutes, I'm just not a fan of... I think the information could've been delivered more efficiently, more fluently). As it is though, it's very entertaining. Again, I'm not quite sure showing us the assassination at the start was really all that needed (I guess to not fool people in what the film was really about) but it still offers as a different sort of beginning that maybe could've worked better in a different way. But the film is lucky that it has such a strong, capable actress at its core. Cate Blanchett is simply wonderful, stunning performance that has to hit a lot of notes and she succeeds completely.

Veronica Guerin is an Irish biopic that features Cate Blanchett in the title role.The screenplay by Carol Doyle and Mary Agnes Donoghue focuses on Irish journalist, whose investigation into the drug trade in Dublin led to her murder in 1996.It was directed by Joel Schumacher. Guerin is a relentless crime reporter for The Sunday Independent during the 1990's. The screenplay focuses on her pursuit of the underground drug trade in Dublin, which she suspects is led by mobster Martin "The General" Cahill. When Cahill's gang is attacked, she suspects mobster Gerry "The Monk" Hutch is responsible. Not deterred by threats or gunshot wounds, she uses thug John Traynor as an informer to help out her investigation of psychotic mobster John Gilligan.The film provides us great performances as Blanchett gives a tour de force performance as Guerin. Sporting a perfect Irish accent, she imbues the character great screen presence that we do care for her character.Also,the film was an engrossing thriller despite of an average screenplay that resorted to standard movie plot rather than a character study of the journalist herself.

I find Joel Schumacher very hit-and-miss, but I have always liked Cate Blanchett and the film's subject really interested me, so I sat down to watch it. And I was really impressed. Veronica Guerin contains one of Schumacher's superior directing jobs, it is efficient without becoming too ham-fisted. Cate Blanchett is outstanding, I'd go as far to say after Elizabeth this is perhaps her second best performance. The support cast, particularly Colin Farrell also give excellent performances. There are no over-saturated colours in sight, instead it is quite gritty but done in a striking way. Veronica Guerin is quite harsh and hard-hitting, however it never fails to be moving and intelligent. Crisp dialogue and a compelling story also help. The ending is one of the better ones I've seen in a while, and Guerin herself is just a remarkable person. There may be the odd scene that drags, but overall Veronica Guerin is fantastic and one of the best of Schumacher and Blanchett's careers. 9/10 Bethany Cox