Hunger leaves a lasting impression

Steve McQueen's Hunger is the tale of an unspoken filthy tragedy. Silent and graphic, political and steadfast, Hunger is increasingly difficult to turn away from.

We follow the imprisoned life of Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) during his last weeks alive as a result of the Irish Republican hunger strike in 1981. We also follow the lives of a prison guard (Stuart Graham) and two un-named IRA prisoners (Brian Milligan and Liam McMahon) who take part in the refusal to bathe or wear prison attire.

In opposition to their British oppressors, the members of the IRA conduct horrible deeds within their cells, fighting back the only way they can. What happens within these cells is just as disgusting as what happens out of them. The audience shudders before the sight of these events just as the characters themselves do. The bodies belonging to everyone involved are completely battered, their minds stirring with the weight of what is taking place within this prison. None of these actions are without consequence.

The characters are fully developed, greatly human and every scene gives you someone to invest in. The guard becomes the viewer of the subject matter in the film itself and the events are translated to the audience through him as they also are by the prisoners and Mr. Sands.

There is very little dialogue in this film and the audience is left to fill in the blanks, but when conversations do begin, they involve the heaviest language possible. After all the visual, visceral grossness we sit down to simply shot, tour de force dialogue between a priest (Liam Cunningham) and Bobby Sands. They discuss the gravity for Sands' plans of this hunger strike and what the end result will ultimately be. It is amazing that any actor could memorize and deliver 22 minutes of straight dialogue in perfect form.

The priest and Bobby both want the same end result but both want it in very different ways. As an audience we are excluded at this point and left separate from what is going on at the moment, given a chance to pay strict attention to the meaning of the words within this very astute conversation.

Margaret Thatcher's militant tone rings through the film on more than one occasion. She strips the IRA of their political status, christening them as mere criminals. The definition of the IRA is purely political. While the exact ideologies of the IRA and the British are not explicitly defined in this film, it is clear that both are unwavering in their stances. The IRA refuses to negotiate from their "dirty strike" and the British continue to strike back harder against their revolt.

The pain in this film goes beyond the confinements of the prison. The politics of the hunger strike reach out into the lives of those involved who venture outside the prison in drastic, life altering ways. Bobby Sands literally becomes the cause he is fighting and willing to die for.

Hunger brings an unflinching call to how things appeared during the hunger strike. The extraordinary becomes the ordinary in this provocative film, leaving a lasting impression with the repercussions and results ingrained in our minds.


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