The Boxer was released in 1997, and was produced by Hell’s Kitchen (IRL) and distributed in partnership with Universal Pictures (US).
The Boxer is the third Jim Sheridan film concerning The Troubles, after In the Name of the Father (1993) and Some Mother’s Son (1996). Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Danny Flynn, an ex-IRA man who returns to his home in Belfast after serving 14 years in prison. He had been a member of the Provisional IRA, and by the time he is released he is 32 years old. After being released, Flynn no longer has the desire to concern himself with the Troubles and least of all the IRA. Danny decides to make an honest life for himself by rebuilding the old gymnasium where he used to train as a boxer and opens it to the public. When Danny’s ex IRA lieutenant, Harry hears of this, he does everything in his power to ruin Danny’s chance at a legitimate way of life. Harry executes the police officer who donated equipment to the gym and this is the cause of a riot that breaks out and where Danny’s gym is burned to the ground. In the end, Harry and other members of the IRA kidnap Danny Flynn in order to execute him. However, one of the gunmen shoots Harry instead and Danny is able to walk away in order to start his life anew.
The Boxer challengers many of the representations of the IRA offered in action films. The interesting dynamic within Sheridan’s work is in the way the film demonstrates the IRA’s presence without allowing it to dominate. Despite being intimately concerned with the impact of increasingly violent and hardline IRA splinter cells in Northern Ireland, the film is primarily the story of Danny’s path to redemption, forgiveness, and peace. Thus, in this nuance, the film represents the constant presence of the IRA in the daily lives of the Northern Irish people. Danny and Maggie, two people trying to live peacefully in Northern Ireland, are constantly troubled by the IRA, the local force that prevents them from moving on. Coming in 1997, the film is also dealing with elements of peacemaking, as the peace process had been underway in Northern Ireland since the 1994 Provo Ceasefire. Harry is the representation of the hardliners unwilling to move on, while Joe represents a move towards peace within Republican organizations.
Official Trailer for The Boxer (1997)
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