“‘Stand calmly by your posts. Bend bravely and undaunted to your work. Let no cruel act of reprisal blemish your bright honour. Every dark hour that Michael Collins met since 1916 seemed but to steel that bright strength of his and temper his gay bravery. You are left each inheritors of that strength.”
—Richard Mulcahy, to the Army soldiers after word of Michael Collins’ death
Liam Neeson, Alan Rickman, and Julia Roberts starred in the 1996 biopic Michael Collins. Directed by Jordan Neil, the film was meant to honor a true Irish hero who continued to fight for Irish independence after the rising. Although Neeson was forty years older than the Michael Collins of the film, he was passionate about taking on this role, involving himself in Ireland’s legacy. The film became the highest-grossing film
ever in Ireland upon its release, making IR£ 4 million. The movie was rereleased this March 2016 as part of centenary celebrations and to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the movie. Without the use of such notable stars in the biopic, the film may not have been as successful. It is undoubtedly the recognizable names that draw a crowd to a historical film such as this:
“‘The death of Collins has the same resonance in Ireland as the death of John Kennedy did in the United States,’ says Jordan in an interview with Rolling Stone. ‘Because he died so young, people imagine all sorts of lost possibilities.’ A hero to some, Collins is a traitor to others, who see the compromise that left Northern Ireland under British rule as the roots of the civil war that still rages today. Had Jordan not become bankable with the successes of Interview With the Vampire and The Crying Game, and had he not been able to persuade such stars as Liam Neeson and Julia Roberts to work for scale, his dream project might never have attracted the American studio money it needed to match its epic scope.”
Michael Collins was mostly filmed on-site around Ireland, hoping to keep the story as close to home as possible. The city of Dublin cooperated with the team well, understanding the importance of such a film. This biopic made the history of Ireland, and narrative about Collins, more accessible. Despite the film’s success at the box office, there were many mixed reviews around Ireland. The film, like the documentary, brings up some sore spots in Irish history that have not been completely forgotten such as the violence and bloodshed between Irish groups similar to the conflict with Northern Ireland leading up to 1997.
Many also claimed that the film stepped away from historical documents and created
an inaccurate portrayal, fudging historical facts to benefit the heroic representation ofCollins. Michael Collins proudly calls himself “minister for gun-running, daylight robbery and general mayhem” but the film unsettles dust around the conflicts of the 1970s, while seemingly supplying a “simplistic reading of political violence.”
One of the other controversies of the film is the villainous twist applied to Eamon de Valera. First, he is seen as setting Collins up for failure as he sends him in for the British negotiations, knowing it would be impossible to procure and he would return home hated. This scene illustrates the manipulation of those negotiations:
While this may be historically accurate or justifiable, De Valera is also suggested to be responsible for the death of Collins at the end of the film. In reality, De Valera actually tried to prevent Collins’ death. In his interview with the Rolling Stone, Neil admits “I wanted to show a portrait of de Valera as somebody who was powerless to prevent Collins’ death even if he had known about it; he was ineffectual toward the end of the civil war. It’s the young go-between, played by Jonathan Rhys-Myers, who on his own initiative tells Collins a lie: ‘De Valera will meet you tomorrow at this place.’ And Collins, on his way there, is ambushed. What I wanted to show was a new, harder, more brutal generation of Republicans actually taking the initiative and ambushing and killing Collins.” A poetic way of framing his idea, though it does not come across to the audience as well sparking already remnant tensions. The death of Michael Collins is an ambiguous one, with rumors still circling, theories drawn up about how he was the only one killed in the ambush (Coogan 414-16).
Michael Collins death scene, song featuring Sinead O’Connor:
In an interview with RTE Ten, Neil Jordan heard rumors and was harassed with questions of how he would be approaching the film: “But for me it was just making a film I’d written 13 years before but when it was announced in Ireland, the whole country was `what is he going to do?! Is he gonna do this? Is he gonna do that?’…Michael Collins was made at a very electric and sensitive time and that’s why there were all these justifiable different opinions about what I did but for me as a director, I had to work from my gut. You have to do what you feel.” This is one difference between the 1916 documentary and the biopic: when producing on your home soil, the likelihood of scrutiny and biased inclusions increase dramatically, and Neil Jordan was no exception.
Jordan admits to the Irish Times that he took some cinematic liberties with the film—such as the Croke park scene—but also notes how controversial most of the film would have been at the time of its release, anyway:
“Twenty years ago, when the film was released, that history seemed like much more explosive material. The mention of nationalism or republicanism could cause shouting at dinner parties. When I was making the film, that did get really tedious, but it was more of a live issue then. Now politicians are able to mark the 1916 centenary without all shouting and blaming each other. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are almost the same party now.”
Although his film has garnered criticism as being IRA propaganda and supporting the violence of the times, Jordan stands by the notion that his film sets out to remember a hero of Ireland who worked tirelessly for peace. Michael Collins should be remembered as a brave hero of Ireland, one who brought Ireland closer to its true potential. His guerilla methods may be questionable, but the cinematic portrayal of him should not undermine the success he brought Ireland. As the opening scene of Michael Collins states:
“He never did what anyone expected. He got the British out of here and no one expected that”
“He’s dead and life is possible. He made it possible”
On the role of Liam Neeson:
Since 1982, Jordan had wanted Neeson to star in the film, then closer to Collins’ age. However, they both went their separate ways, and once the film was officially in the works, Neeson was then 44. Jordan, though, looked past the discrepancy. “People back then seemed to become mature so early,” he says. “They put on those collars and suits. Marriage was earlier. Death was earlier. Besides, Liam is such a wonderful actor. I think what happens in Hollywood is that the movies don’t have the stature that the actors themselves have. Liam was truly great in Schindler’s List. This character is not Oskar Schindler, but it’s a character of equal complexity and contradictions.”
Neeson took on this role realizing the importance Michael Collins held in sculpting Ireland’s history, but without forgetting the serious chasm that Collins’ tactics reiterated within the country. Collins was described as “the Soft Man, Michael Collins, the warm-hearted human being” but also “the Hard Man, the soldier, functioning efficiently, relentlessly” (Coogan 389). For a man of such contradiction, Liam Neeson seemed to fit the role fairly well.
Here is a clip of Neeson as Michael Collins. He embodies Collin’s spark, drive, and courage in rousing the crowds:
Click here for Michael Collins Speech Reenactment
Masculinity Representation of Michael Collins