A Prayer for the Dying (1987)

People are voting emotionally.

Good concept, poorly executed.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Blistering performances.

By 1986 actor Mickey Rourke was riding out the crest of the wave created by performances in films like 9 ½ WEEKS and BARFLY. But after those films his star seemed to be falling and it wouldn't be until the mid-2000's that he would be considered somewhat bankable again. Most of this was due to his personal life and not the performances he gave. This film was proof of that.Rourke stars as Martin Fallon, a top IRA assassin wanting to get out of the life. It seems his last mission resulted in the deaths of a number of children and he's had enough killing. Escaping to London he's looking for a way out and one is provided for him by gangster Jack Meehan (Alan Bates). Kill his rival and he gets a new passport and passage to America.Fallon falls through with the contract but is seen by a local Catholic priest, Father Da Costa (Bob Hoskins). In an attempt to force the priest to remain silent he confesses the killing to him hoping that the oath he took to never reveal what is said in confession will do so. In talking to the priest he also makes the acquaintance of his blind niece (Sammi Davis).While this may have worked it doesn't satisfy Meehan whose brother saw that Da Costa was a witness. Meehan reneges on the deal unless Fallon agrees to kill the priest. With both the mob and the IRA, who fear his betrayal to the cause after his leaving them, on his tail Fallon must try and find a way out as well as insure the safety of both Da Costa and his niece. The odds are against him and it isn't until the last few minutes of the film that a resolution is found.Critics at the time slammed Rourke's Irish accent but that seems to be something they tend to do far more often than not. The same thing happened to Kevin Costner when he chose not to fake an English accent in ROBIN HOOD. The reality is that this is not something most will notice nor will it change the overall performance here. Rourke's Fallon is exactly what he is intended to be, a man whose conscious troubles him for past deeds faced with the potential to commit more of the same in an effort to save himself.Hoskins is what he always is, a top notch actor who gives his all to the role offered. He too is a character faced with a dilemma, remaining faithful to his oath to God or going slightly off center to report the fact that Fallon is a murderer. It's not an easy choice and has been used in more than one movie using confessional revelations for this purpose.The film is well made, well acted and well directed even if director Mike Hodges complained when the film was released that it wasn't what he intended and that the studio took the reins from him before it was completed. Even with that being the case the movie remains interesting and entertaining.Twilight Time once more presents the film in a clean blu-ray transfer that make it the best out there. Extras include an isolated score track with some effects, director Mike Hodges on A PRAYER FOR THE DYING, director of photography Mike Garfath on A PRAYER FOR THE DYING and the original theatrical trailer. As with all of their releases Twilight Time is limiting this to just 3,000 copies so if interested make sure you buy one today.

A Prayer For The Dying is a melodramatic romantic action thriller following IRA assassin Martin Fallon (Mickey Rourke), a man with a brutal path in life whose long buried conscience surfaces after an explosives mission goes awry, resulting in the death of schoolchildren aboard a bus. It's a bold scene to start a film with, and in every instance after it Fallon has a haunted frenzy about him, clearly damaged by what he did and saw. As if that weren't enough, he now finds himself compelled to murder a priest (Bob Hoskins) who witnessed one of his militant crimes. Fallon spends a lot of time hesitating, and in that hesitation he strikes up a romance with the Hoskins's blind daughter (Sammi Davis), finding sanctuary and a modicum of redemption with the two of them. A lot of nasty people from his past are looking for him though, including his amoral former partner (Liam Neeson), an evil British crime kingpin (the great Alan Bates) and the kingpin's murderous brat of a son (Christopher Fulford). Obligatory shootouts, personal and religious angst, sappy sentiment and dodgy accents, particularly from Rourke, ensue. He can blend into a lot of roles and pull off a lot of different characters, but it seems an Irish accent is a stretch, and it shows. As the character of Fallon himself, ethnicity aside, he does a bang up job though. Bates is razor focused in playing anyone, and his villain here is a spidery creepo. Neeson is young and doesn't get much to do except hassle Rourke, but their confrontations are nicely done by both parties. Director Mike Hodges, whose other work I've never really seen, seems to like slow and deliberate action scenes, very old world and sometimes repetitive, but entertaining nonetheless. Not the best IRA thriller out there (most of the events here have little to do with the movement anyway, and focus more on Fallon), but a decent way to spend a couple hours.

Gotta admit, I'm on a Mickey Rourke run, having just seen Angel Heart, Barfly, and Francesco. A Prayer for the Dying is a wonderful piece of work -teriffic acting by all, including Bates, Hoskins, etc. Mickey Rourke has to be one of the most under-rated actors in the industry. His "bad-boy" image hasn't helped, as it has helped other actors who fall into the same category. He reminds me a lot of Steve McQueen -subtle, intense, controlled acting, but when the action is needed he delivers. I sincerely hope he has a comeback sometime soon. In the meantime, run to your nearest video store and rent this great film. There are some incredible moments that I won't forget anytime soon. This story has been told before: bad guy trying to get away from the badness. . . but Rourke makes is all new, by adding his own unique charism. See it.

Completely (and rather unjustly) forgotten today, this is an offbeat, interesting dramatic thriller based on a book that seems to lift its basic idea from Alfred Hitchcock's "I Confess" (actually, I haven't seen "I Confess" yet, but everybody knows its premise). The movie has a great cast and makes an earnest attempt to combine psychodrama with more traditional thriller elements. The main problem is that, once the basic situation has been (elaborately) set up, the story seems to get stalled and has nowhere to go. There is also a subplot, involving Liam Neeson in an early role as Mickey Rourke's old comrade in the IRA, that's ultimately just a waste of time. (**)