Route Irish (2010)

73% of critics liked it
(26 reviews)
55% want to see it
(273 ratings)

The story of a private security contractor in Iraq who rejected the official explanation of his friend's death and sets out to discover the truth.

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: Ken Loach
Written By: Paul Laverty
Genres: Documentary, Drama, Art House & International

Studio: Diaphana

Critic Reviews

Tom Clift, Moviedex
Although not especially revelatory, [...] Route Irish is still a success as an often troubling, occasionally thrilling and always tragic low-key drama.
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses
full review at Movies for the Masses
Philip French, Guardian [UK]
A characteristic Loach film, a gripping conspiracy thriller not unlike Hidden Agenda, his film on the Troubles.
Alistair Harkness, Scotsman
The amateur-hour acting and melodramatic, cop-out ending expose Loach's faux attempts at realism to be as phoney as anything produced in Hollywood.
Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo
An at times gripping, at times bludgeoning tale of one man's search for truth and retribution.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
You don't expect Ken Loach to make thrillers, but this one is an angry and relevant film about the perfidies embedded in the Iraq conflict.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
An angrier film you're unlikely to see all year.
Christopher Tookey, Daily Mail [UK]
Route Irish is a didactic thriller about the Iraq war, with wearisomely predictable villains and a profoundly unsympathetic hero.
Catherine Bray, Film4
A film that's actually about something real? Incredible, but true.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
The film isn't a write-off, because Loach's simmering rage gives it a sporadic rawness and voltage. Sadly, it also clouds his vision.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Emotionally engaging and superbly acted, this is a gripping, powerfully relevant and impressively directed British thriller that unfolds like a disturbingly dark detective story.
Allan Hunter, Daily Express
The latest collaboration between veteran British director Ken Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty has a disappointingly routine well-worn thriller plot but they deliver it with a welcome layer of moral complexity in the end.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
A minor Loach work - yet there are powerful moments and valuable insights.
Jonathan Crocker, Little White Lies
Crushingly bleak anti-drama erodes your interest with every scene.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

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Featured Audience Ratings

Anthony L

Route Irish is regarded as the most dangerous road in the world and that is essentially where the film starts but there are many 'dangerous roads' explored in Ken Loach's gripping and uncompromising thriller. Mark Womack is full on in the lead role of Fergus, a private… More
Route Irish is regarded as the most dangerous road in the world and that is essentially where the film starts but there are many 'dangerous roads' explored in Ken Loach's gripping and uncompromising thriller. Mark Womack is full on in the lead role of Fergus, a private security contractor working in Iraq who is trying to get to the bottom of his best friends death. So many elements of human nature are explored here; friendship, regret, guilt, revenge, anger - it really has got it all. it all so touches on the unpopular issues of contractors making a lot of money in war-torn countries, the people making vast fortunes out of taking advantage of the situation and the crimes they are getting away with. It also touches on the very real and very nasty sides of war, this comes as our protagonist breaks down and confesses to the horrors he's seen in conflict but then 20 minutes later, tortures a man with the controversial Water-boarding method. Never one to shy away from controversy, Ken Loach has produced another thought-provoking and powerful film that seems to be criminally overlooked once more. And before you wonder, yes, it does star that John Bishop. He's quite good in it too!
Nicolas K

Ken Loach certainly knows how to make a good drama. This time around he looks at a story of a contractor returning from Iraq war, dealing with both the issues of settling back to normal life but also determined to find the answers to the unexplained death of his best friend in Iraq.

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