Review: The Siege of Jadotville is Earns its Place Among The Greats.
- Feb 7, 2017
- 2 min read
September 1961. The Congo is at war and, at the centre, a small band of Irish soldiers, under orders from the UN to hold the line. For six days they repelled their foe in a battle that was looked down upon until 2005.
Pat Quinlan (Jamie Dornan) and a small force of Irish peacekeeping soldiers are sent into The Congo during a coup. Unbeknown to them, UN Dr Conor O'Brien (Mark Strong) launches an attack against mercenary units serving in the state of Katanga. The political leaders of Katanga, seeing this attack as the UN siding with there enemy, fought back. The troops stationed at Jadotville soon came under attack from an enemy they didn't know and with no reinforcements in site.
Jamie Dornan gives a surprisingly good performance, considering his prior roles, most notably 50 Shades. He is charismatic and endearing, an man one would easily fight alongside. Mark Strong and Jason O'Mara round out the rest of the main cast, each of them giving good preformances with Strong's Dr O'Brien being suitably slimy.
Between the solid performances there's a lot of good action on display. Director Richie Smyth excels in his directorial debut, painting a vivid and harsh picture of war as well as the lead up and aftermath. The battle scenes are very well done and, while not on the same level of major hits such as Saving Private Ryan, they go above and beyond what is necessary.
The Siege of Jadotville is not a perfect movie. The story is somewhat confusing, though this is as much a flaw of the film as it is a flaw of history itself. It's a heroic tale of survival against the odds and one that deserves to be watched.
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