Rose's War

Rose Dugdale (Imogen Poots) rebels against her upper-crust English upbringing. She turns into a social agitator, social organizer, and finally a revolutionary. She tries to steal from her home for the IRA and her parents get her arrested. It's 1974. She leads three other men on a mission to steal valuable paintings and ransom them for four IRA prisoners. The caper isn't much. More could be done to make that exciting. This is more about Rose's journey. It's her character study and that relies on Imogen Poots. Luckily, I really like her acting over these many years and she sells me on this character.

Since there are reviews stating that this movie is boring, I thought I would explain why it's not. Boredom is self imposed, and Baltimore is certainly slow. However, the acting is good enough and the production is at a high level. I've always liked Imogen, yet in Baltimore she does shine, she's intense, insecure and complicated. Imogen does demand enough attention to overshadow Tom Vaughan-Lawlor's great presence and acting chops. This is not an action movie, it's an exploration into the mindset and journey of Rose Dugdale, so it's leans closer to a "dynamic" documentary. I can't find anything wrong with this movie. If you have the patience it's quite intriguing...

source: Rose's War

source: Rose's War

The real life woman this movie is based on, is a legendary Activist in the IRA. She, by all recorded accounts, was a player in both the physical and psychological. This movie is boring and dull. It focuses predominantly on the art heist that led to her arrest. The end of her tale. In the real world she ended up in a nursing home as a frail old woman who looked no different than the other dying clients. In reality she was a deep, well travelled lefty who fought for change. She had numerous lovers in the IRA and was feared. She co-planned many IRA manoveours None of this made the script of the movie. Let down of a movie. Was so much to be told or used in flashbacks. But none of it was. Perhaps the best scene of the entire film is the aerial shot of the boat in motion on the river. The last shot. Beautiful. Otherwise, Meh.

.......I shall say this only once. If you can get past the french accent Poots puts on sounding like Officer Crabtree from Allo Allo, there is a wonderful tense thriller here. Debutante Rose Dugdale enjoys a life of wealth and privilege, but her rebellious nature soon leads her down a militant path. Amongst the political turmoil of the 1970s, her sympathy towards the IRA's conflict evolves into radicalisation, culminating in an armed raid on an Irish estate with three comrades. However, when her simple heist takes a violent turn, is Rose prepared to face the devastating consequences..... It's a simple house raid movie, with the main character wanting to steal expensive things to fund the IRA. But what makes this stand out from other films in this genre is the relationships that she builds with people on the outside, and her dropping her guise because she becomes endeared to them. The other thing that begs the question, is just how much of her narrative is in her mind? Has she been somewhat brainwashed by the IRA, as they know that she is a reckless person with privileges. The cast are pretty amazing, especially the two friends she inadvertently makes in her quest, as you are answering the question, do they know who she is? Do thy have an idea? We are put in this position, because we are so involved with Rose, we cannot help but pity her, because she is a very vulnerable person. If you get a chance to see it, please do, it's a very tense thriller.

Compelled to be presented to the Queen as a debutante in return for an Oxford University education, Rose Dugdale (Imogen Poots) rebels from a fairly early age. Her privileged upbringing - as so often happens - leads her to detest the very hands that fed her in her childhood. Meantime, the troubles in Northern Ireland in the early 1970s are only increasing and after a trip to a training camp in Cuba, she returns a fully capable, bomb-making, terrorist - with a brain and a conscience. A plot is devised to rob a stately home of some valuable Goya, Rubens and Vermeer paintings and hold them as hostage for £500,000 and the freedom of two hunger striking IRA prisoners incarcerated in the UK. What now ensues is a rather weakly constructed speculation as to just how this shrewd plan was executed and of the aftermath. The story is an interesting history - but with the timelines dancing around all over the place and the performance of Poots a bit hit or miss, I found the pace of the film too bitty. We are all too often left dangling when a storyline is being developed and talking of development, there is very little to inform us about who the real Dugdale was. The screenplay doesn't shy away from describing the radicalisation here nor of some of it's concomitant brutality but somehow her vitriolic detestation of the British state is left completely unexplained. This subject could make for a strong political documentary on a woman who was clearly dedicated to her cause, but as a drama - this doesn't ever really engage.

I had heard all my life about this person, Rose Dugdale, a member of the British Aristocracy who fought against those people and I was curious about her story. She was an anomaly in Irish history that we never fully understood. The film raised the question of her anger against her people / class but never attempted to answer it. Other people fight for causes - the Spanish Civil War, Palestinian freedom but English people fighting for any body the English have oppressed is very shocking. Certainly Imogen Potts did a good job and the movie brought the 1970s back to life. The film was well shot except for a couple of errors that might have been made for stylistic reasons or because the makers were too young (NOBODY in Ireland had green nail polish in the 70s and colour televisions were rare in the early 1970s. The only way people in a squat could have one, was if it was stolen) The trail of thought in the film was choppy and I was less committed to staying to the end of the film than I might have been because I didn't fully see what her (or the films goal was). Was it to explain HER? Or that period in her life? It didn't seem to do either. Tom Vaughan-Lawlor had a surprisingly small role.

In '70s-based Irish true-tale "Rose's War" (aka "Baltimore") young English heiress Imogen Poots rebels against parents Carrie Crowley & Simon Coury to lend her active support to the IRA, leading Tom Vaughan-Lawlor (terrific), Lewis Brophy & Jack Meade in violently robbing a haul of valuable paintings from a stately home, before hiding out while trying to extract a ransom & prisoner release for them. Dermot Crowley offers solid support, and experienced co-writers / co-directors Christine Malloy & Joe Lawlor do chop the timeline cleverly - but it still comes across as only a relatively minor jigsaw puzzle piece in a much bigger picture. It is interesting, but not sensational.

We need more strong female leads in films these days. Women who speak up who stand up and do not do the whole "women should be seen but not heard". I think this film is excellent and well made. Story line is fabulous. I love Imogen Ive seen her in other films she is a force to be reckoned with. Please if you have any doubts hear me out im. I am a very critical movie goer and I wouldn't bother with a review if this wasn't worth it... So give it a chance and watch this true story be shown in its authentic form. Thank you for taking the time to listen to my review. Be well. And focus on the story. It's true.