Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival September 10,2014
Plot(Spoiler Alert)
Set in the year 1971, a young British soldier named Gary Hook gets left behind by his unit in the streets of Belfast. He must do what he can to survive in a town where everyone wants him dead.
Blaine: Screenwriter Gregory Burke wanted to tell a thrilling story about Belfast that would take place during 69-71. He wasn’t interested in writing a story like that at first, but the more he thought about it he realized it would be something worth telling. He told producer Angus Lamont about it and Angus suggested that it be a story about a soldier who gets lost in a city because he read about a few soldiers who got stuck in Belfast while on patrol. Gregory was also inspired by Mel Gibson’s “Apocalypto”. “Apocalypto” was about a man trying to get back to his pregnant wife and son who are stuck underneath a hole after being taken away by a different tribe and Gregory wanted “71” to be something like that because it was very thrilling for him. Gregory wrote a few drafts and after Yann Demange signed on to direct the film, he suggested that the soldier have a younger brother because the audience was going to be rooting for the solider through the film and there needed to be a reason for it. Yann heard about Gregory Burke being inspired by “Apocalypto” and he thought the brother could be the family the solider, Gary, is trying to get back to. Yann thought about Gary being responsible for a younger brother back home because all they have is each other.
While Angus, Yann and Gregory were exploring Belfast, a man in his 60s had told them about these two soldiers who were caught and shot dead. That helped Gregory think of an idea for a scene. Another soldier gets left behind with Gary, he gets shot right in front of Gary and Gary panics and runs away. Gregory did a lot of research for the script even though the story focusses on a fictional character. He felt that having real people would be too hurtful for the ones who knew them. Yann and Gregory did meet with people to have them describe what they saw during the events of 1971. Yann and Gregory wanted to cast someone who looked like he could pass as a soldier and a leading man. Jack O’Connell went in to audition, but they felt he was too old because Gary was supposed to be seventeen. But Jack was able to act like he was still a kid during the audition and they were very impressed with his performance.
There were a lot of psychopaths in that town and a lot of people who despised the soldiers, but there were some people trying to calm them down because they saw everyone was turning into savages and that some of the soldiers were still kids. In “71” there’s a scene where a woman shows up, saves the boys after they get left behind and beaten up by some of the towns folk. She does her best to protect them, until a boy shoots one of the soldiers right in the head. Everyone believes that the townsfolk were nothing but violent animals who wanted the soldiers dead. After Gary’s solider friend gets shot he makes a run for it because two guys are trying to kill him and he goes running through different houses, tunnels and streets. They shot that sequence in different cities and streets even though it looks like they shot it in one location. The cameras had to focus on the actors from different angles as they were running. And the cameramen had to catch up with them. It was like they were making a maze scene. As a matter of fact my dad said it looks like Gary is running through a maze. Yann didn’t think they would be able to shoot that sequence going from house, to house, to house because he didn’t think they had enough money in the budget to build the set or shoot it, but the production designer and the cinematographer managed to think of something and Gregory Burke was relieved because he didn’t want that sequence taken out of the script.
Gary Hook can’t speak a word, otherwise people will know he’s an outsider, but he is lucky enough to find people who can help him. The first person who helps him is a little boy. The boy takes Gary to a bar, Gary steps out for a bit, then the bar explodes, Gary goes back in, finds the boy with his arms blown off and gets him outside. It was a challenge for Gregory Burke to think about how would continue after the bar. If it ended there than it would just be a 47 minute movie. Gary is found lying down on the street by a man and his daughter. They find out he is a soldier, but they see how injured he is and they stitch up his wound because they are the type of people who want to do good even though they also know helping him will put them in danger. After he is stitched up, Gary manages to sneak out of their apartment fearing he is not really safe there. No place in that town is safe. A group of people are out looking for him and want him dead. Problem is Gary doesn’t have enough strength in him because he is injured. The group shows up to the apartment and know Gary is somewhere. Gary is wandering around the apartment building trying to hide. He was smart enough to grab a kitchen knife so he can defend himself. That scene is very thrilling because you don’t want the group to find Gary and you want him to survive. Problem is the group are like predators and they won’t stop at nothing until they find their pray. Gary gets caught, but good news is the other British soldiers show up just before Gary is shot to death and save him. In the end, all Gary can think about is getting back to his brother. Gary has seen a lot of stuff that he wished he never saw and that haunts him. When Gary left he was a young orphan boy, but he has retuned as a man. He wants to move on and raise his little brother.
