Movie Review: The Journey

The story of Sinn Fein MP Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney) and protestant minister and Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall) overcoming decades of fervent disagreement to find common ground in the historic 2006 St. Andrews Agreement is a great story.

Add a cast of notable Irish and English thespians and you'd be forgiven for having high expectations.

This should be tempered by the knowledge this is a fictional account about what may have happened when McGuinness hitched a lift to the airport with Paisley during the British-organised talks in Scotland.

Director Nick Hamm captures the tension of the event and adds a dose of humour, with a nervous Tony Blair (Toby Stephens) trying valiantly to keep discussions on topic. The film's success, however, depends on whether you buy into the idea of what happened when McGuinness and Paisley find themselves together in an SUV.

With talks at an impasse, Paisley must return to Belfast for his 50th wedding anniversary, and with the protocol for Northern Ireland politicians travelling by air to do so together, to avoid one side assassinating the other, McGuinness goes along for the ride.

The rest of the story takes place during the car trip to the airport, with the leaders given the opportunity for a brash, intimate and at times amusing discussion about living through The Troubles - as men rather than politicians. Once you're over fixating on Spall's oversized dentures, you can appreciate how beautifully Spall and Meaney work off each other.

It's a tough job explaining how Paisley and McGuinness overcame their prejudices to reach an understanding; eventually going on to be known as The Chuckle Brothers. The task is at times too big. The script works hard to sum up each side's perspective but often feels like a citation of the conflict's timeline. The proposed role played by M15 in the success of the agreement may be the hardest pill to swallow.

Beyond this however, as politics around the world becomes increasingly partisan and zero-sum it's a relief to be reminded that, on occasion, sense can prevail.

Cast: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney
Director: Nick Hamm
Rating: M (Offensive Language)
Running time: 94 mins
Verdict: An interesting but polarising interpretation of history.