Hunger (2008)

11.45pm, Tuesday, Film 4

“I have my belief, and in all its simplicity that is the most powerful thing”

Turner Prize-winning artist Steve McQueen took on a mammoth subject for his debut feature, the 1981 IRA hunger strikes. He delivered a truly remarkable and visceral piece of cinema. Shot in three acts, the rst chronicles the early days of the dirty protest in the H Blocks of Long Kesh prison, when IRA prisoners sought political status and refused to wear prison garb. The second act is a marvellous, two-handed set-piece, shot in one continuous take, involving Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender) and local priest Fr Dominic Moran (Liam Cunningham). During the course of this remarkable interview, Sands announces his intentions to hunger-strike to the death and both men discuss the moral implications of such an action. In the nal act (shot by McQueen on a closed set), we see Sands wasting away before our eyes. It’s a massive canvas but McQueen succeeds by turning the prison cells and corridors into something akin to an art installation (notably in one sequence where a lone prison warder is meticulously disinfecting the prison corridors). Brilliantly written by Enda Walsh and directed with a remarkable attention to detail by McQueen, Hunger is a triumph for all concerned, notably for Fassbender, who fasted under medical supervision (600 calories a day) to play the Republican leader during his nal days. It’s a memorable performance from a young Irish actor who was clearly destined for great things.