The Writer's Life 12/19 - Engrossed

Descendants of the English have been in Northern Ireland since the 1100’s, and it has caused strife on and off ever since. At present the situation is about as good as it gets. I haven’t heard of any violence between the Irish Catholics and Protestant Unionists in a long time, although I’m sure many on each side probably still hate each other. ‘71 (2014), which I saw last night courtesy of Netflix, takes the viewer back to the height of "The Troubles," as they are called by the natives. The focus is on a British soldier who grew up in an orphanage. His first assignment becomes a nightmare. He is separated from his comrades during a riot and spends a harrowing night in Belfast, clueless as to whom to trust and how to get back to his barracks. The tension is thick, the action crisp. I don’t know how accurate the circumstances and history of the scenario are, but it all seems plausible. After all, it is a single day. The situation may not have been as bad as this most of the time, but it’s certainly possible it was occasionally, especially given the foolishness of hot-headed young men. Yann DeMange directed, his first feature film after several stints at the helm of BBC series. I look forward to his future work. The star is Jack O’Connell, who was also the lead in Angelina Jolie’s directorial debut, Unbroken (2014). The film runs only 99 minutes. I was completely engrossed. 28,000+ users at IMDb have rated it, forging to a consensus of 7.2 of ten, which is a bit low in my estimation. It takes no side on the issue. In fact, elements of both factions betray their own cause. It does have an anti-service bias, but that takes a back seat to the plight of the young man. As a survival odyssey, '71 is first rate. Of course, there is violence, but not as much as in most movies. The accent is on suspense.

It was a surprising session of the floating book shop. I wasn't expecting much after just missing out on two parking spaces and waiting an hour for another to open up. Fortunately, the bank blocked a great deal of the stiff, icy wind on the first winter-like day of this mild December. Then clouds rolled in, so I knew it wouldn't be long before I surrendered to the cold. My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases during my brief stay, especially to the two gentlemen who bought the largest, heaviest books on display, a Webster's dictionary and a beautiful pictorial history of English monarchs. Thanks also to Bad News Billy, who overpaid for a DVD, The Good Night (2007), starring Danny DeVito and Penelope Cruz. Unfortunately, his grand-daughter is again skipping school. I think the only solution for her will be a GED. Spasibo to the three Russian women who between them bought four novels in their native tongue.

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp

Vic's Horror Screenplay: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3f

Vic's Blog: http://vicfortezza.blogspot.com/

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/