Four Days in July
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''Four Days in July'' is a 1984 television film by
Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Design ...
. Set and filmed in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, the film explores
the Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an " ...
by following the daily lives of two couples on either side of
Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
's religious divide, both expecting their first children. The film's action unfolds over 10–13 July 1984; the two couples' children are both born on 12 July, the date of a Protestant celebration in Northern Ireland known as
the Twelfth The Twelfth (also called Orangemen's Day) is an Ulster Protestant celebration held on 12 July. It began in the late 18th century in Ulster. It celebrates the Glorious Revolution (1688) and victory of Protestant King William of Orange over ...
. Despite the politically charged setting, the film is uniquely uneventful, at least on the surface; Paul Clements writes that "It is hard to identify any full length work by Leigh in which less of consequence seems to happen." Broadcast only once, it was Leigh's last film for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.Clements 176


Cast and crew

The film stars Paula Hamilton and
Charles Lawson Quintin Charles Devenish "Charlie" Lawson (born 17 September 1959) is an actor, from Northern Ireland, who is best known for playing Jim McDonald on the long-running ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street''. Early life and education Lawson was b ...
as the Protestant couple, Lorraine and Billy, and
Brid Brennan Brigid ( , ; meaning 'exalted one' from Old Irish),Campbell, MikBehind the Name.See also Xavier Delamarre, ''brigantion / brigant-'', in ''Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise'' (Éditions Errance, 2003) pp. 87–88: "Le nom de la sainte irlandais ...
and Des McAleer as the Catholic couple, Collette and Eugene. Stephen Rea,
Eileen Pollock Eileen Pollock (18 May 1947 – 19 December 2020) was a Northern Irish actress whose work included political theatre, pantomime, and the role of Lilo Lil in television series ''Bread''. Early life Pollock was born in Belfast, and studied langu ...
, B.J. Hogg, and Shane Connaughton appear in secondary roles. The film's music was composed by
Rachel Portman Rachel Mary Berkeley Portman,
FilmReference.com


Reception

In 2009 ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' Kevin Maher praised the film as a "must-see movie for anyone with a compassionate interest in an 800-year-old political sore." Shane Connaughton, screenwriter of ''
My Left Foot ''My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown'', also known simply as ''My Left Foot'', is a 1989 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jim Sheridan adapted by Sheridan and Shane Connaughton from the 1954 memoir of the same name by Christy ...
'' called it "easily the most interesting picture I've seen about Northern Ireland since the troubles started. Apart from
John Arden John Arden (26 October 1930 – 28 March 2012) was an English playwright who at his death was lauded as "one of the most significant British playwrights of the late 1950s and early 60s". Career Born in Barnsley, son of the manager of a glass f ...
and
Margaretta D'Arcy Margaretta Ruth D'Arcy (born 14 June 1934, London) is an Irish actress, writer, playwright, and activist. D'Arcy has been a member of Aosdána since its inauguration and is known for addressing Irish nationalism, civil liberties, and women's r ...
's ''The Ballygomben Bequest'' (1972), I can't think of any play or film that has gone into it so successfully in any deep way at all."Connaughton, quoted in Michael Coveney's 1996 ''The World according to Mike Leigh'', p. 178


Notes


References

Clements, Paul.
"Four Days in July (Mike Leigh)."
''British Television Drama in the 1980s''. Comp. George W. Brandt.
Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press in the world. It is also the King's Printer. Cambridge University Pre ...
, 1993. 162–176.


External links

* {{Mike Leigh Films directed by Mike Leigh Films scored by Rachel Portman Films from Northern Ireland Films about The Troubles (Northern Ireland) Films set in Belfast Films shot in Northern Ireland BBC television dramas British television films 1984 television films 1984 films 1980s English-language films