Fifty Dead Men Walking

 

 

Jim Sturgess stars in Fifty Dead Men Walking, a new film based on the true story of the IRA's Marting McGartland.

Photograph by : Brightlight Pictres, TVA Films

Jim Sturgess got a very nice compliment recently when he was filming a movie. Some kid threw rocks at his head.

It wasn't because he is a bad actor. It's because he's such a good one.

He was in Belfast was filming a scene from Fifty Dead Men Walking, based on the true story of Martin McGartland, a member of the Irish Republican Army who became an informer for the British. McGartland risked his life and got away with it, although he's been in hiding ever since.

"We filmed on the streets, and local people crowded around and people were a bit worried for my safety at times because it's a very touchy subject," said Sturgess, who plays McGartland in the film. "Once I felt a bang on the back of my head and it was a kid throwing stones at me. So it still exists."

It was also a tribute to Sturgess's performance, which was authentic enough to evoke the kind of anger McGartland himself could expect if he ever returned.

"I don't think he would be too welcome if he came back to Belfast," Sturgess said. "I asked them what would happen if he came back, and they gave me a look that was like, I won't say any further."

Fifty Dead Men Walking was directed by Canadian Kari Skogland, one of the few women filmmakers who makes action thrillers (Kathryn Bigelow, who made The Hurt Locker, is another).