Movie vs Reality: Hunger
By Felix Quinonez Jr.
October 29, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
In each entry of this column I’m going to be looking at a different movie “based on a true story” or whatever phrasing is attached to it and compare it to the actual story. Hopefully I’ll be able to separate fact from Hollywood. But I’m also going to be talking about what those changes mean and why they were made. Do the changes have some artistic merit or are they just attempts to make the story fit into a neat Hollywood package?
Northern Ireland has had a very rocky history. For many years, the nation has been embroiled in violent political and social unrest. A particular instance of restlessness was the 1981 Irish Hunger Strike. Hunger, starring Michael Fassbender focuses on this event. The movie, released in 2008, was directed by Steve McQueen (no, not THAT Steve McQueen).
As I’ve pointed out, Northern Ireland has, throughout time, been fraught with violence and turbulent problems. But as is usually the case, their history is quite complicated and I won’t try to fully explain the nation’s troubles or even pretend to be an expert on it. But I will point out that these hunger strikes were a result of years of protest during what is known as “The Troubles.” The Troubles was a conflict in Northern Ireland that at various times found its way to the Republic of Ireland, England and even mainland Europe. It is generally accepted that it lasted from the late 1960s until 1998 with the Belfast “Good Friday” agreement. Obviously, that is a very succinct summary of a very long and complicated conflict. The topic merits its own column - at the very least - and is definitely worth reading about.
Aside from focusing on a very interesting topic, Hunger is also a very good movie. It has a 90% rating at Rotten Tomatoes. And it was named the "Best Film of 2009" by the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards, an honor it shared with Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds. But how accurate is it? Let’s find out...
What the Movie Got Right
At the beginning of the movie we see a new prisoner, Davey Gillen, arrive. After being interviewed, Gillen is labeled a "non-conforming prisoner." This happens because of his refusal to wear the prison uniform. The guards send him to his cell naked with only a blanket. There he meets his cellmate, who has smeared the walls with his own feces. This was something that the prisoners had taken to doing as a form of protest.
The prisoners get visits from family members and we see them passing messages and smuggling in items through various methods. The prison officers take it upon themselves to make the lives of the prisoners intolerable by being violent. The prisoners are removed from their cells often to receive beatings. The prisoners grew long hair and beards as part of earlier protest and the guards physically restrain them to cut their hair. The prisoners are also held down in tubs to be violently cleaned.
One of the major concessions the prisoners were fighting for was the right not to have to wear prison uniforms. They wanted to wear their own clothes and at one point it seemed like they would get this wish. We see the prisoners led out of their cells to receive civilian clothing. But instead of giving the prisoners their own clothing, the guards distributed officially issued civilian clothing. The prisoners responded by tearing up the clothes they received and wrecking their cells.
On March 1, Bobby Sands, the IRA's former Officer Commanding in prison refused food and the second hunger strike began. They decided to do things differently this time by having prisoners join one at a time. Each would start two weeks after the previous one. They did this to gain more public support and in hopes to drag out the strike as long as possible. They also wanted to put the maximum amount of pressure on the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
The movie is very explicit about Sand's deterioration in health. He died on May 5, 1981. Over 100,000 people lined the route to his funeral, which was done with full military honors.
What the Movie (may have) Gotten Wrong
Since most of the movie takes place inside the prison, it's hard to know how much of it is really accurate. The general information can be confirmed. But because the movie gets so specific about what happens, at least some of it had to be speculation. At the beginning we get to see one of the guards at various points of his day. We see so much of his routine and the way he behaves towards other guards that it is hard to believe all of those details were documented.
At one point, we see the prisoners get visits from their families. While it is more than reasonable to believe some goods were snuck in during those visits, it also seems likely that some liberties were taken for dramatic effect.
Verdict
Hunger is a very powerful movie and includes a great - and overlooked - performance from Fassbender. It portrays a very difficult story and it is understandably hard to watch. But one should know that the movie is more interested in showing the horrible conditions these prisoners had to live with than being a history lesson. And although the movie is still very moving, the fact that so much of the context is left out lessens the impact at some points. For instance, the scene in which the prisoners destroy their rooms because they didn't like the clothes they were given can - without context - be seen as a temper tantrum instead of as the important turning point that it was. But the movie is still haunting and gripping. It opens your eyes to a very tragic conflict and comments on the terrible things we're capable of doing to one another.
Next Time: Snowstorm