The Beating Heart of Belfast (2021)

NOTE: This contains some spoilers for the film 'Belfast'. As I know the Academy Awards are ongoing, and that this film was nominated for a few categories, I will edit this post for continuity's sake.

The Beating Heart of Belfast (2021)

By Logan Tyler Smith

Have you ever wondered what a non-dysfunctional family looks like during old timey riots? A non-dysfunctional family is seemingly the heart of the 2021 Kenneth Branagh film, Belfast. But it is not quite the center as you would immediately assume. They absolutely play a role in the story, but they are not the heart of Belfast. The heart of Belfast is its understated but effective acting, its near-impeccable technical ability, and its depiction of genuine human emotion. 

Right from the start, Belfast succeeds in its mastery of filmmaking craft. When the main child character first appears, he is at school playing before a big riot (originating from ‘The Troubles’ in 1969, where the film takes place) begins. Even if you’re unfamiliar with the characters or historical events the film is based loosely on, you know what you need to know. And what you need to know is established by the characters hiding in their house and the riot going on outside of their house. We all know that riots are dangerous most of the time, and the previous time we spent with the main kid character in the schoolyard makes us fear for him and his family. This is established not just with wide and reaction shots, but is enhanced with quick editing, pyrotechnics, and subjective filmmaking. This combined with the previous few minutes in the schoolyard establishing the protagonist really adds to this. All of these elements and moments add up to true mastery of the film’s craft. 

The acting of the film is understated but effective. The child performers deliver their lines in a way that doesn’t draw attention to themselves, but their lines still feel organic for people of their grade school age. Similarly, the adult characters (both young and old) deliver their lines in a way that you understand where they are coming from, but none of this is for showmanship. These two methods of acting especially work during the scenes where the adults and children interact. While we implicitly understand the family dynamics, this also creates moments of genuine humor and, in some moments, heartbreak. This is true both when the main character does not want to move from Belfast and during his many positive interactions with his grandparents. However, other good performances come from the depiction of young love the main character has with a girl in his class. These acting techniques lack panache, but they work very well with this material. 

This film also tackles a very real feeling a lot of people across the world have. And that feeling is the dissonance between a love of your home and the need to move forward. Throughout most of the film, the main character and his mother do not immediately want to move away from Belfast, either because of family and romantic love or because of an ethereal connection to home. However, the main character’s mother gradually accepts that she needs to move away from her home for the good of her family. The main character, however, mainly wants to stay in Belfast because of his close friendship with his grandfather. It is only after his grandfather dies (plus the events of the surrounding riots) is he able to accept the move away from Belfast. He is, however, similarly close to his grandmother, and in the film, she gives him and the rest of the family her blessing to leave her behind. Plenty of these connected moments highlight the real human emotions at the center of the need to move forward. 

All of these moments are what I would consider the heart of Belfast. The craft on display, the acting, and the themes all come together to showcase something super effective. Director Kenneth Branagh is not necessarily known as an auteur, but when it comes to this type of apparently personal story, he seems to get it. I hope that I have conveyed to you the beating heart of Belfast.