Cal

1984

Drama / Romance / Thriller

4
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 79% · 13 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 79% · 100 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.5/10 10 1801 1.8K

based on novel or book 1970s ira (irish republican army) ireland guilt belfast, north ireland

Plot summary

Cal, a young man on the fringes of the IRA, falls in love with Marcella, a Catholic woman whose husband, a Protestant policeman, was killed one year earlier by the IRA.

Director

Pat O'Connor Photo
Pat O'Connor

Top cast

Helen Mirren Photo
Helen Mirren as Marcella
Daragh O'Malley Photo
Daragh O'Malley as Scarfaced Policeman
Tom Hickey Photo
Tom Hickey as Preacher
John Kavanagh Photo
John Kavanagh as Skeffington
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB
941.28 MB
1280*690
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles es  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 7
1.89 GB
1920*1036
English 5.1
NR
Subtitles es  
23.976 fps
1 hr 42 min
Seeds 13

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by christopher-underwood 6 / 10

Helen Mirren was fine

Although I had never watched this because it was rather difficult for me so that the IRA and the bombs still so near in the 70s. But when I saw Neil Jordan's, the wonderful, Angel (1982) I bought it. But I still didn't watch it although after I'd seen Kenneth Branagh's Belfast (2021) then I thought surely I was brave enough to watch this. Of course it turns out that it is not at all terrible or harrowing and it becomes to be more like a romance. There is still some killing and fighting and burning but nothing like as it could have been. It begins well but becomes just a bit silly towards the end. I also thought that Helen Mirren was fine but no idea how she had an award at Cannes. She had been fantastic in The Long Good Friday (1980) and also Hussy the same year and even rather brave with Caligula (1979). I guess that it was difficult doing, The Cook, the Thief & Her Lover (1989) but was one of her best but Cal is only okay.
Reviewed by JuguAbraham 6 / 10

Dame Helen Mirren deserved her Best Actress win at Cannes for this film

"The wages of sin is death" ---Romans 8:5. That's the board nailed on a tree by a priest soon after the opening credits. Lots of killings and finally the wages of sin is indeed death. Ordinary tale of the hatred between the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland. However, Ms (Dame) Helen Mirren is truly wonderful in this film, deserving of her Cannes Best Actress win for her role here.
Reviewed by jhowar1 7 / 10

feels real to an outsider

It's interesting to see Irish reviewers' takes on movies like this. I haven't seen Cal in years, but I still listen to the beautiful soundtrack by Mark Knopfler. I put it on this morning, which is why I thought to look up the movie here.I remember being captivated by the drama of this young kid in over his head, both with the IRA and in his romance with an older woman. The scenes had a raw grittiness that felt very real to me when I saw it in the theater, back in the mid-1980s.So it's surprising to me to hear the film described by at least one reviewer here as both unlikely and clichéd. And I can't argue with that, in terms of history or culture or politics, because I wasn't there. Anyone who lived in Belfast at the time would surely have a more realistic view of the IRA and of Irish culture than I do.But this morning, my young son looked up when that first song came on, and gave me a look, like, "What in the world is this?" After the song ended, he said, "Dad, it's so beautiful, it almost hurts." That's how I always felt about Cal. I'm a sucker for anything that's both beautiful and sad. That's how I remember the movie.
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