Kenneth Branagh’s hands are all over this -- the personal story, the acting, the Van Morrison, the black-and-white -- even the drawn-out snippets of daily life which, at times seem incongruous, but imperatively inform the tone. Early on, it’s unclear exactly what that tone will be. But as we watch the kid’s safety gradually deteriorate, we realize (after the fact) that Buddy and his family have passed the point of no return and somebody’s going to wind up dead if they don’t bail out of Belfast like wild banshees. That realization for the characters and the audience is grim and all too real. “Don’t look back,” Judi Dench's Granny utters ironically under her breath at the end. That’s exactly what Branagh’s doing here: looking back at how it all went down, in the movie that will probably win Best Picture.
