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From: Rhino <no_offline_contact@example.com>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv
Subject: Say Nothing
Date: Fri, 22 Nov 2024 17:19:51 -0500
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FX has a new series called Say Nothing that may be of interest to anyone 
with curiousity about what the Irish called "The Troubles". This is the 
period of time starting in the late 1960s in Northern Ireland which 
frequently made the news over assorted acts of violence.

Say Nothing is based on a very successful book of the same name about 
two young Catholic sisters who joined the IRA in 1972 and took active 
part in violent operations to drive the British out of Northern Ireland. 
Unlike so many productions these days, they didn't invent these young 
women or gender-reverse real-life men: this is based on a true story.

TV inevitably takes liberties with reality/history for dramatic purposes 
and I have not yet read any articles outlining what liberties were taken 
here so I will NOT say that every moment in this production is exactly 
the way things played out. However, it has the feel of reality. I am not 
particularly well-versed in this conflict but I know a little about it 
and I haven't seen anything yet that rang false.

I've just finished the third of the nine episodes in the limited series 
and I've only recognized one of the actors in it: Rory Kinnear (who 
plays the Prime Minister in The Diplomat) as the British brigadier 
(general) who is in charge of the British Army's intelligence unit, 
which is trying to identify and capture the leaders of the IRA in 
Belfast. The remaining actors are unfamiliar to me despite having seen a 
few other Irish productions but they do a pretty impressive job in their 
roles, particularly Lola Pettigrew, who plays Dolours Price, the more 
outgoing on the two sisters. She's the lead in this production.

The story goes right back to when she and her sister first joined the 
IRA in an active role. (Previously, women were relegated to rolling 
bandages to treat the men if they got injured.) We see the environment 
that made her go from participating in peaceful protests to feeling the 
need to go beyond that. We see her participate in an armed 
"expropriation" (bank robbery) and help a captured IRA member escape 
British custody, just for starters.

There is, inevitably, violence depicted in this series, including 
bombings, shootings, and torture, so if that kind of thing upsets you, 
this show is probably not for you. If you want to get a sense for what 
life was like during this conflict, at least on the Catholic side, you 
should find this informative and engaging. (If you're deeply familiar 
with the conflict, you may find it oversimplifies things a bit. For 
example, I have yet to see any sign of the different factions among the 
IRA that vied for leadership of the effort.)

IMDB gives this an 8.4 rating.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt31122777/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

-- 
Rhino