A chauffeur-driven missed opportunity

The Journey 12A Cert, 94 min

Dir: Nick Hamm; Starring: Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Freddie Highmore, John Hurt, Toby Stephens, Ian Beattie

The death of Martin McGuinness in March was a sharp reminder that 11 years on from the St Andrews Agreement, the reputation of the former IRA chief turned deputy first minister of Northern Ireland remains anything but settled. Murderous gangster, staunch champion of unity, or some impossible reconciliation of the two?

You might hope that The Journey, an apocryphal drama about one long day late in the peace process, would argue some kind of case – or at least interrogate the entrenched images of McGuinness (Colm Meaney), and his arch-rival Ian Paisley (Timothy Spall), the totemic Protestant leader. Instead, it plonks these two bulldozer personalities in the back seat of a chauffeurdriven car and has them squabble like an old married couple.

Directed by Nick Hamm ( The Hole, Killing Bono), the film imagines the two men left the St Andrews peace talks on day one: Paisley has to fly back to Northern Ireland to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary, and McGuinness insists on travelling with him.

Unbeknown to either, MI5 honcho Harry Patterson (John Hurt) and confidant of Tony Blair (Toby Stephens) has rigged their car with a camera and microphones, and a driver (Freddie Highmore) who’s working for the British establishment. His mission is to turn their drive into a kind of political speed-date.

The recent documentary Bobby Sands: 66 Days teased out the gripping political and philosophical nuances from the smoky grey space between the Unionist and separatist causes, but The Journey trundles round at a Wikipedian plod.