Cannes 2010: 'Route Irish'

Those fearing that Ken Loach had lost his provocative edge after the delightfully uplifting Looking For Eric need not panic. His Cannes Palm d'Or entry Route Irish is an angry and blistering attack on the Iraq war - more specifically the men in suits using the conflict to boost their own bank accounts. It revolves around the death of private contractor Frankie (John Bishop) on the road (of the title) from Baghdad airport to the green zone and his best mate Fergus's (Mark Womack) investigation back home in Liverpool into what really happened.

A Loach film with a difference, Irish features explosions, cross-cutting between clashes at home and abroad and, as the plot kicks into gear, takes on the form of conspiracy thriller. There's fire in front of and behind the camera as Womack's intense performance is matched by Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty's ire at the casualties of war. Post-Iraq Fergus is an empty shell, he's made good money from his time as a soldier of fortune but guilt weighs heavy on his shoulders - he brought his best pal Frankie into the private firm, so naturally blames himself for his death. It's his search for the truth - via a mobile phone video, webcam conversations and waterboarding interrogation - that drives forward Route Irish.

It's not a flawless film, however. Fergus's relationship with Frankie's widow Rachel (Andrea Lowe) plays out relatively flat and their sort-of-romance jars with the thriller elements. This is searing and gripping cinema though, and like Taxi Driver (Womack's fierce performance even recalls De Niro's Travis Bickle) delved into the fallout of Vietnam, Route Irish has pertinent points to make about the human trauma of war.



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