Director: Joel Schumacher
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Gerard McSorley, Ciaran Hinds, Brenda Fricker

- Reviewed by Vickie

Cate Blanchett will no doubt land herself another Best Actress Oscar nomination come February for her stellar work in this compelling biopic that tracks the last two years in the life of the titular Irish journalist who was murdered—assassinated, really—in June of 1996.

Directed by Joel Schumacher, the story finds Sunday Independent reporter Guerin taking on the criminal underworld in print after she decides to make exposing the drug trade in Dublin her personal mission. Of course, drug dealers and crime lords aren't terribly keen on having their business busted wide open or probed by the authorities, so Veronica's life is soon in danger. Despite an array of nefarious characters being targeted in her research, Veronica's biggest threat comes from John Gilligan (Gerard McSorely, in a terrifyingly icy performance), a diminutive but brutally ruthless ex-con intent on permanently silencing this new, very vocal detractor. Death threats, attempted murder and countless beatings soon follow but Guerin remains undaunted and forges ahead, ignoring pleas from her family and colleagues to move on.

Blanchett is excellent, displaying a wonderfully warm, playful energy in her portrayal. Her Guerin is smart, sassy, funny and ballsy beyond words, but also human—a wife, a mother, a daughter—and it all radiates right off the screen. Gerard McSorely, as mentioned earlier, scared the bejesus out of me. I'm sure I've seen in him in something before, but his heavy-handed role here is the one that will forever linger in my memory. Also of note is Ciarān Hinds, who plays Guerin's informant, John "The Coach" Traynor, and Brenda Fricker as Veronica's mother, Bernie. Both are very strong, and Fricker's ability to convey emotion without dialogue is quietly powerful. One scene between Blanchett and Fricker, in particular, at a birthday party where fear lingers in the air, is especially sharp.

Tracing Guerin's struggles, both personally and professionally, to combat the growing problem of heroin addiction and trafficking on the streets of Ireland, the film presents a very frank and decidedly unbiased examination of the woman behind the byline. It paints her as neither a saint nor a sinner. Was she a bull-headed reporter who took too many risks and ultimately paid with her life? Or was she a dedicated journalist fatally punished for her earnest efforts? Perhaps both, but Schumacher wisely leaves it up to the audience to decide.

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