Summary
War movies haven’t always been a genre that Cillian Murphy has been associated with, but in the early days of his career, the Irish actor starred in a war drama that features one of his most underrated performances to date. The film, titledThe Wind That Shakes The Barley, was directed by Ken Loach and follows two brothers as they fight in the war for Irish independence and quickly find themselves on opposing sides when a treaty is negotiated. Thisgripping, heartbreaking story of identity and freedomis one ofCillian Murphy’s best movies yet.
What makesThe Wind That Shakes The Barleysuch a fascinating, emotional watch is how strongly it values historical accuracy and leans into the educational side of storytelling. While the characters are definitely the most important part of this story, there’s a lot of attention paid to the backdrop of the war and its effects on society as a whole. Although it was Christopher Nolan’sOppenheimerthat madeCillian Murphy the first Irish Best Actor-winner, smaller projects likeThe Wind That Shakes The Barleyshowcased his talents long before the 2023 film’s release.
How Much Cillian Murphy & The Oppenheimer Cast Was Paid
The Cillian Murphy-led cast of Oppenheimer was full of A-list actors, but some didn’t get paid as much as expected for the Christopher Nolan film.
What The Wind That Shakes The Barley Is About & Who’s In it
The War Drama Features Some Recognizable Faces
The Wind That Shakes The Barleywas written by Ken Loach’s long-time collaborator Paul Laverty and takes place during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War that followed; the story centers around two brothers who fight alongside each other for independence, but their conflicting beliefs cause a chasm when they’refighting against each otherin the civil war. The film takes its title from Robert Dwyer Joyce’s famous song of the same name, which can be heard early in the film and tells the story of the 1798 rebellion in Ireland.
Starring in the cast are Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney as brothers Damien and Teddy, who are joint protagonists in this large-scale narrative. Alongside them areGame of Thrones’ Liam Cunningham andLaw & Order: UK’s Orla Fitzgerald as Dan and Sinead respectively - two fascinating side characters whose presence hugely raises the stakes of this story.The film wasan enormous successupon release, widely considered among thebest Palme D’Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Wind That Shakes The Barley Is One Of Cillian Murphy’s Best Performances
He’s Much More Subtle And Restrained Than Usual
The Wind That Shakes The Barleyis a deeply poignant and personal story of family, sacrifice, and fighting for what you believe in. Every scene is bursting with emotion, and the characters are all complex figures who face challenges at every step of their journey. This provides theperfect recipe for Cillian Murphy to do what he does best, getting the audience on his side and presenting his feelings through the screen in one of his most vulnerable, heartbreaking performances to date.
[Murphy] strikes a perfect balance of subtlety without being too distant, which is why it’s so easy to empathize with his character inThe Wind That Shakes The Barley.
Murphy is great at exaggerated sci-fi roles likeSunshineorInception, and he’s great at the loud and brash protagonists like Tommy Shelby inPeaky Blinders,but what he proved withOppenheimer(and first with Ken Loach’s project) is that he’s best when being quiet, self-reflective and reserved. He strikes a perfect balance of subtlety without being too distant, which is why it’s so easy to empathize with his character inThe Wind That Shakes The Barley.These areCillian Murphy’s best roles, asthey allow him to really displaythe depths of his acting abilities.
How The Wind That Shakes The Barley Compares To Murphy’s Other War Movies
It Was Neither Murphy’s First Nor Last Wartime Adventure
Although Cillian Murphy hasn’t appeared in many war movies throughout his career, there are some examples that provide both similarities and differences from this project. The most popular example isDunkirk, where he plays a shell-shocked soldier who’s taken aboard a British boat sailing for the rescue beaches. This is a much louder and more violent role, as he’s dealing with severe trauma and coming to terms with his situation - his work inThe Wind That Shakes The Barleyis more internal, thought-provoking, and subtle. In many ways, it’s more similar toOppenheimerthan anything else.
AlthoughOppenheimerisn’t a war movie in the most obvious sense of the phrase, the entire purpose of the narrative centers around winning the Second World War. Throughout his journey, Oppenheimer isgrappling with the consequences of warfare, trying to make sense of his own ideological values and decide whether he’s morally right or not. That’s very similar to Damien’s situation inThe Wind That Shakes The Barley: he’s risking everything by fighting against his family, but he values justice and morality above all else.
