Director Kari Skogland knew that telling the story of IRA informer Martin McGartland would require a sensitive touch, but she never foresaw the controversy that erupted at its premiere screening. She talks to MICHAEL DWYER
FILM FESTIVALS ARE magnets for controversy, and so it proved again last autumn when Martin McGartland threatened legal action to prevent the world premiere of Fifty Dead Men Walkingfrom going ahead at the Toronto International Film Festival. McGartland objected to his representation in the film, which is based on his experiences when he infiltrated the Provisional IRA as an informer.
The film's credits state that the screenplay was "inspired by" McGartland's book Fifty Dead Men Walking, so titled because he believes his undercover activities saved that many lives while he operated undercover between 1987 and 1991. Rising British actor Jim Sturgess plays the character based on McGartland, who is introduced as a petty thief hawking stolen goods before he's recruited by a Special Branch handler codenamed Fergus, played by Ben Kingsley.
The film was scheduled for a high-profile gala screening at the Toronto event, which ranks alongside Cannes and Venice as one of the world's three most important film festivals, when McGartland threatened an injunction. He said that he and his solicitor had seen "a version of the film" at a private screening organised by the producers. He told trade publication Screen Internationalthat the version he saw misrepresented his life and showed him participating in murderous bomb attacks and torture, both of which he denies.
The producers responded with a statement in which they said: “Mr McGartland was consulted by the film-makers during the production, read the script, and watched the film in advance of any public screening. He was also given the opportunity to have the name of the lead character replaced with a fictional character name, which he declined.”
The threat of legal action finally was lifted on the eve of the Toronto world premiere, which proceeded as planned. “Relieved? Yes, I am,” the film’s Canadian director and screenwriter, Kari Skogland, said when we talked in Toronto. “I’m glad that he (McGartland) is happy with it now.” She declined to detail whatever changes had been made to address the issues McGartland raised. There were media claims that he had been given an additional payment to cease and desist, but when asked about that this week, the producers replied: “An agreement was entered into, the terms of which were specified to be confidential between the parties.”
“We optioned the book from his publisher,” says Skogland. “We had full rights and there were no legal issues. We certainly were very respectful in listening to him throughout the process of shooting and finishing the film. We responded to him as a person to make sure that his story was told respectfully, but without the tail wagging the dog. When he raised problems, we heard his concerns and we reacted to them. I was determined that they were resolved and I’m thrilled that they have been resolved. Everything he came at us with, we looked at very closely.
“For me as a film-maker, it was critical that I did not compromise the picture in any way while taking his concerns into account. This is not a documentary on him. It was inspired by his story. There’s no question about that, but after spending time in Ireland and specifically in Belfast and after interacting with the community, I realised that there was a larger story to be told. “I had to fictionalise quite a bit because a lot of real people were named in Martin’s book, and I could not portray any of those people. I wanted to be sure that I served the truth, but also that I changed things enough that these characters weren’t recognisable. And I had to tell a story for people who did not know the detail of what went on in Ireland at the time.”
Skogland’s agenda was not to make a political movie, she insists. “It’s very clear, I hope, that I don’t take sides. It’s about a character caught between two worlds and having difficult choices to make, and having to look to his own morals and ethics and to use them as his beacon to make decisions. At the end of the day, in any conflict, right and wrong and the truth are the first things that are lost.”
Skogland became aware of McGartland’s story when a friend of hers, who became an executive producer on the film, gave her a copy of his book. She had “grown up with the Troubles in the newspaper,” she says. “I was well aware of them, but never understood them. I liked the universality of the story because, whether it’s happening in Ireland or Iraq or in an inner city, the notion of someone choosing to go against their community and potentially giving up their life and their future, or facing torture as retribution, was a very compelling story. That’s what hooked me; the human drama behind it.”
The movie is most effective in building tension as the McGartland character has to tell one lie after another to cover his tracks, and as he attempts to maintain his family life throughout the consequent turmoil. Skogland never met McGartland, who has been living under assumed identities. “We talked only on the phone,” she says. “I had no idea where he was at the time and I still don’t know where he is now. And I don’t need to know. When the film was in production, we spoke quite regularly.” She came to Belfast and lived there for several months before making the film, conducting “a lot of deep research” into the story and its background. “It was all very clandestine, but I talked to both sides because I wanted to get it right. I was constantly careful that whatever anyone from any side told me, I would get counter-opinions. I was working very closely with ex-IRA volunteers and with ex-members of the RUC.
“I was making sure that my story had a truth to it and that I wasn’t misled because I came in as an outsider. It was a very interesting position to be in because I brought no baggage to it. I had never been to Northern Ireland before I started working on the film, and I loved every second of being there. It was a very interesting time to be there, as Belfast was emerging as a city that wanted to move forward and to put this conflict behind them. I could feel that energy while we were there. Of course, Belfast looks beautiful now and we had to dress it down for the film.” Skogland proves adept at orchestrating action in Fifty Dead Men Walking, staging riots, explosions and chases with impressive flair. “While we were shooting those scenes, some people were watching and I would ask them if we were getting it right. We were filming in sensitive areas, and we had to be very respectful of the areas we were in. To some people, Martin McGartland is a hero, and to some, he is a traitor.
“There was a lot of liaison with the communities. I believe in transparency, so I made sure everyone knew what the film was about and what my take on it was. From the beginning, I said it was an amalgamation of many stories to tell the story of an informer through Martin’s story. Once I got there and learned about the place, and the uniqueness of the Irish story and the Irish struggle, it added a layer to how I needed to tell it and the larger story I needed to bring into it.”
The film was made under “very heavy security”, she says. “I loved shooting in Belfast and I would shoot there again in a heartbeat. This particular story was sensitive, so we knew that security issues would be a problem, but I would not want anyone to think that security issues are a problem there in general. They are not. “There were some communities that kicked up and had concerns, but we were very respectful and we made sure everyone knew what we were doing. And I made sure everyone knew that I didn’t know where Martin McGartland was.”
Fifty Dead Men Walkingwill be shown as the closing presentation at the 9th Belfast Film Festival tonight. It goes on general release next Friday
Trouble's brewing: Another 'Fifty Dead Men Walking' controversy
The controversy surrounding the world premiere of Fifty Dead Men Walkingat the Toronto festival did not end with Martin McGartland withdrawing his threatened legal action against the screening. Cast member Rose McGowan (right) kept the film in the news with her remarks during a Toronto press conference on the day of the premiere. "I imagine, had I grown up in Belfast, I would 100 per cent have been in the IRA," she said. "My heart just broke for the cause. Violence is not to be played out daily and provide an answer to problems, but I understand it."
In the film, McGowan plays a fictional character, Grace Sherwin, who is captioned as an IRA intelligence officer. “She’s senior intelligence,” says the Special Branch agent played by Ben Kingsley. “She uses her body like Mata Hari.”
The producers issued a statement of regret for any distress McGowan’s comments may have caused to the people of Northern Ireland and “particularly those who were victims of or caught up in the shocking events that existed during the Troubles”, adding that her views “are not shared nor endorsed by anybody associated with the production”.
Kari Skogland, the film’s director, said: “Rose’s personal opinions of Northern Ireland do not reflect the perspective of the film in any way. Our goal was to present an even, non-judgmental point of view so the audience could follow the path of an informer with empathy, no matter what the politics. ”
And Martin McGartland expressed his view: “Rose McGowan’s comments were insulting to victims of IRA terrorism and she should apologise. It’s easy to say
this sort of thing when you live in LA.”