48/11
Story
The real Dolours Price was married for two decades (1983-2003) to the Irish actor Stephen Rea
During that period, Rea appeared in the movie for which he is arguably best known in the United States: the 1992 romantic thriller The Crying Game. In that film, Rea plays Fergus, an extremely reluctant and ambivalent member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA)–the same organization that Price was involved with for many years.. As Episode 1 of "Say Nothing" (2024 release from the UK; 9 episodes ranging from 41 to 50 min each) opens, it is "Belfast 1972" and we are reminded that this is "Based on a True Story".
We don't know why or who took her
A woman is being taken away from her home, leaving her kids behind. We then go to "Dublin, Ireland, 29 Years Later" and we meet. Dolours Price.
She is about to be interviewed as part of an oral history of the Troubles
At this point we are 10 minutes into Episode 1.Couple of comments: there have been many movies and TV series and documentaries about the Troubles before, but I don't recall ever having seen anything like "Say Nothing", which brings the 3 decades that were the Troubles with a fresh look. The series follows several events and jumps back and forth in time, but somehow it brings the main themes of the Troubles with a clearer perspective than ever. While the differences and fighting between the Protestants/British Army versus the Catholics/Irish-minded gets of course plenty of attention, less obvious issues such as the Disappeared by the IRA are also included.
Beware: this mini-series is not for the faint of heart
There are plenty of solid acting performances, none more so than Lola Petticrew as Dolours. At the end of it all, I felt like I had received an emotional gut punch. This mini-series is riveting from start to finish, even if some moments are uncomfortable.
