The Journey

In 2006, after decades of civil war between Ireland’s Protestant and Catholic factions, a landmark truce—the “St. Andrews Agreement”—is about to be negotiated deep in the heart of Scotland. On one side is Dr. Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall), a conservative minister who leads the Democratic Union Party; on the other is Martin McGuinness (Colm Meaney), a former IRA soldier who now represents the organization’s political arm known as Sinn Féin. The men have been mortal enemies for decades. And thanks to circumstances beyond their control, they are forced to share a long car ride to their destination—all the better for MI5 head Harry Patterson (John Hurt, in one of his final roles) to keep an eye on both of them. Chauffeured by a planted British intelligence agent (Freddie Highmore), these unlikely companions reluctantly spend their trip discussing everything from the works of Samuel L. Jackson to the 1972 Bloody Sunday massacre. By the end of their trip, the two firebrand lions in winter will find that they have more in common then either thought possible. A speculative drama about what might have transpired on that fateful, detour-filled afternoon, the film doubles as the world’s most unlikely buddy comedy. Director Nick Hamm offers his legendary actors a showcase to strut and fret in a way that you’ve never seen before—a verbal battle royale between Spall’s gruff, growling elder statesman and Meaney’s sarcastic, shark-like revolutionary. It’s a road movie in which history has already provided the end destination; it’s the performers who let you see the journey that allowed them to arrive there. —David Fear