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Veronica Guerin | 2003 | R | - 6.8.9

Based on the true story of Dublin's Sunday Independent reporter Veronica Guerin (Cate Blanchett) whose unflinching investigations into the city's drug underworld led to her murder by drug baron John Gilligan in 1996. Also with Colin Farrell, Brenda Fricker, Ciaran Hinds and Darragh Kelly. Directed by Joel Schumacher. [1:32]

SEX/NUDITY 6 - A bare-chested man is in bed with a woman while at a brothel. A boy asks a man and a woman if they'll have sex with him for money. A man and a woman dance together and hug. A woman's bare breast is exposed during a violent scene (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). Scantily-clad women dance in a club -- one dances seductively around a pole. A woman kisses a man (we see his tongue). A man and a woman kiss and a woman kisses a man on the cheek. A man flirts and makes a pass at a woman. A joke is made about the size of a man's endowment. We see a man in his underwear (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A man is bare-chested.

VIOLENCE/GORE 8 - A man is shot in the head while sleeping, a man is shot in the head at a bar, a man is dragged into the street and shot and a man is shot while in his car (each one with blood splattering and spraying). A woman is shot six times while in her car at a stoplight by a person on a motorcycle (we see her slump over and lie motionless with blood on her clothes, on the car window and mirrors). A man forces a door open, holds a gun on a woman, shoots her in the leg (we see blood on the wound and floor). A man punches a woman in the face repeatedly, she stumbles and falls, he kicks her while she is on the ground, tears open her blouse (looking for a wire), then threatens to kidnap and sexually abuse her young son and threatens to kill her (we see her very bloody nose and face). We see a man in his underwear tied to a chair and gagged, a man threatens him, he pulls a knife, we hear the man being cut and he screams and moans, and children on the street hear him (we see him on the ground later covered with blood and although it is hard to make out, his legs may have been cut off). A gun is fired into a house where a woman, her husband and her young son are. A man puts a gun in another man's crotch. A man verbally threatens a man. A man throws a phone and kicks a table. A man talks about another man having been "nailed to the floor." People talk about children dying from drugs. People lie along a street and in a building unconscious and in a stupor from drugs. Children play with used hypodermic needles that they find along a sidewalk. Men disrupt a funeral and talk threateningly to the people gathered at a grave. We see people grieving when they are told of a woman's death and we see a boy kissing a coffin at a funeral.

LANGUAGE 9 - 40 F-words, 2 sexual references, 18 scatological terms, 9 anatomical terms, 16 mild obscenities, 22 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and doing drugs using hypodermic needles.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Drug trafficking, family, love, crime reporting, brothels, the IRA, celibacy, journalistic integrity, protecting sources, crime rates, martyrdom, publicity, fear, bribery, corruption.

MESSAGE - Trying to make a difference can be very dangerous, even fatal.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

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