Watch The Front Line For Free

Truly Dreadful Film

Touches You

A Masterpiece!

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The world is changing. Ireland used to be a place where people starved and dispersed around the globe in hope of a better life. Today people from troubled faraway lands come to Ireland to seek sanctuary. But sometimes there is no sanctuary to be found, the perils are following wherever we go. This powerful movie was advertised as a thriller, but the thrills that this story provides in abundance are of a different kind.The suffering of genocide victims in Congo or any other place on earth is unimaginable. Hollywood with its contrivances can not possibly match the shocking occurrences that life can impose on some poor souls. The Irish filmmakers took a different path, of compassion and sorrow and it filled our hearts with sincere emotions. Most of all thanks to a amazing performance of little known Eriq Ebouaney. His quiet, dignified presence spoke more than a million words.

When I read the storyline on the back of the cover I was sold and had to watch it. I mean it is an Irish film. We have seen some absolute peaches of films come out of Ireland recently. Think of Mickeybo & me, Inside I'm dancing, Garage, Adam & Paul etc... This is up there with them. In the beginning of the film the plot line is a bit thin and the movie is a slow mover but it gathers momentum and pace throughout until the bitter end of it. The acting is credible as is the developing interaction between its main characters. There was no point in the film after the first 20 minutes that I thought 'this can't ever happen'. A big round of congrats to the crew and actors for a thoroughly enjoyable film. And it makes you think and reflect on top of it all!!!

The Front Line marks a major watershed in Irish cinema. Addressing issues of immigration and the horrors of genocide in Africa in a contemporary thriller which plays out on the streets of Dublin, David Gleeson has raised the bar considerably for an Irish film. The director's previous film, Cowboys and Angels, which he also wrote, stands as one of the best Irish films of the last decade. Deceptively simple and light in tone Gleeson addressed similar issues of alienation and broke new ground even then by moving away from the ponderous and the frankly dour image which Irish films hitherto presented of Ireland.Although a very different film and working with a much larger budget, The Front Line is a more rewarding cinematic experience. Graced with a hypnotic central performance from Eriq Ebouaney the film grips from the opening set up in the Garda Immigration bureau.Supporting cast are exceptional with outstanding turns from Fatou N'Diaye as Kala and Hakeem Kae Kazim as the sinister and hugely charismatic Erasmus. James Frain turns in a chilling performance as the scariest bad guy ever to roam the streets of Dublin. Patrick Cassidy's music also deserves particular praise.I can't think of any other film with which to compare this. Perhaps Dirty Pretty Things comes closest but for emotional impact this is a far richer experience.

Who would have thought it possible? A shoot-em-up with serious soul. Writer/director David Gleeson's decision to offer Dublin-based heist-movie THE FRONT LINE as his attempt to build on the promise shown in his debut, COWBOYS & ANGELS, might initially have smacked of the formulaic. But the good news is that the end product bristles with freshness and cinematic sophistication.There's nothing new about a heist movie with a hard edge, but THE FRONT LINE comes with a hard edge and considerable heart.Convincing performances and visually strong production values ensure the thriller aspect of the first half will bring you to the edge of the seat. Unlike so many comparable efforts, however, THE FRONT LINE gives you something to think about when you get there.Just as it seems inevitable that entertainment levels will flag, disturbing revelations about Joe's true identity elevate proceedings to an absorbing consideration of that most fertile of territories for great art – the sometimes thin line between the divine and the depraved.Ebouaney and McSorley are strikingly good in the central roles, and while some of the observances about Dublin-based gangsters seem a tad far-fetched, this is but a minor quibble.Gleeson has delivered a terrific film that reminds us what big screens were made for.