LFF 2010: 'In Our Name'

It wouldn't be a film festival without an examination of the personal turmoil caused by war, and writer-director Brian Welsh's In Our Name steps up to the plate by tracking a female solider (Joanne Froggatt) as she tries to readjust to civilian life following a tour of Iraq. All appears well for a brief moment, but the psychological scars run deep as Suzy begins to unravel in front of her husband (Mel Raido) and daughter.

Welsh's film is a fiercely direct piece of social realism, a work that makes a neat companion to Ken Loach's Route Irish. In fact, it's Loach who Welsh most closely resembles as a filmmaker, steering his actors into dark and brutal corners. Cracks surface in Suzy and Mark's marriage as she avoids physical intimacy, while flashbacks to a harrowing image from the war underline the fact that her daughter is becoming more and more distant. Events gradually spiral out of control, leading to racially-motivated violence, rape and abduction. Bleak times. Without giving too much away, a scene late on depicting a character playing with a loaded gun is particularly agonising to watch.

In Our Name doesn't break new ground in terms of originality but the performances, particularly Froggatt's central turn as damaged soldier Suzy, are never anything less than engrossing. A minuscule budget holds back the scale and cinematic feel, forcing Welsh to really zone in on his lead's fragile state of mind. The film's perhaps better off for it because of this. In Our Name is a convincing and fairly devastating character piece.


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