When a journalist goes to expose the crimes of a drug cartel, the bad guys come for her. The journalist in this true story was Veronica Guerin of the Irish paper Sunday Independent. John Mackenzie shows her story in When the Sky Falls, a gripping crime drama with Joan Allen playing Sinead Hamilton, or Guerin renamed.
The story is set in Ireland in the mid ‘90s where investigative reporter Sinead Hamilton puts her pen to report on the drug crimes as she finds inside sources among a gang of drug dealers. Her stories spark immense public and police interest to the wrath of the drug lords. And while she stands her grounds against them, her personal life feels the heat with her husband’s relentless worries over her safety.
The sensation of the story wouldn’t be as grasping if it were a fictional tale. But true crime has its cinematic value and When the Sky Falls avails it to present Hamilton as a hero ready to put her life on the line in the line of duty. Some scenes may come off as too violent but it’s not gratuitous in nature. Sinead’s fearless pursuit of truth about crime is balanced with scenes from her family life and later the recognition of her journalistic achievement. This makes the dramatic part of the story and carries emotional appeal.
It’s not clear why the filmmakers chose not to name the characters after their real-life identities, which would have solidified the movie’s credibility as a biographical account of Veronica Guerin. On the whole, however, this account of the journalistic martyrdom engages the audience with the grim reality of crime reporting and its consequences in today’s world.
