Say Nothing - Disney+ - The Jean McConville story.

Agent Coulson

All epsidoes drop on November 14th here on Disney+ and Hulu in the States.

Say Nothing is a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. The 9-episode series is based on the book by Patrick Radden Keefe. Spanning four decades, the series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETo4hnxVFho&ab_channel=FXNetworks

ShagNastii

I've the book bought but need to read it. I presume it being 9 eps that it is a drama and not a documentary.

NIMAN

Did FFG organise that release date 😃

siblers

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122755589#Comment_122755589

Book is excellent but the tone of the show feels nothing like the book.

expectationlost

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058377478/say-nothing-disney-the-jean-mcconville-story

your description versus the trailer??????

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122756724#Comment_122756724

yeah it's not really about her at all. the overview on fx;

FX’s limited series Say Nothing is a gripping story of murder and memory in Northern Ireland during The Troubles. The 9-episode series is based on the book by Patrick Radden Keefe.

Spanning four decades, the series opens with the shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again.

Telling the story of various Irish Republican Army (IRA) members, Say Nothing explores the extremes some people will go to in the name of their beliefs, the way a deeply divided society can suddenly tip over into armed conflict, the long shadow of radical violence for all affected, and the emotional and psychological costs of a code of silence.

The series stars Lola Petticrew as Dolours Price and Hazel Doupe as Marian Price, young women who became potent symbols of radical politics. Anthony Boyle stars as Brendan Hughes, a charismatic but conflicted military strategist, and Josh Finan as Gerry Adams, a leading political operator who would go on to negotiate peace and has always denied having any involvement with the IRA. Maxine Peake stars as Older Dolours Price.

Say Nothing is executive produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson of Color Force, creator Joshua Zetumer, Patrick Radden Keefe, Edward McDonnell, Monica Levinson and Northern Ireland native Michael Lennox. The series is produced by FX Productions.

looking forward to it

NIMAN

9 episodes?

Was that really necessary or is it just the usual story of these streaming sites to pad out stories when they could easily be told in 4 to 6 episodes?

banie01

I've not read the book but I am looking forward to this.

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122766009#Comment_122766009

you could easily do multiple seasons on the troubles, one each decade, from multiple sides

BaywatchHQ

I was reading her Wikipedia page. My great aunt was married to a former British army soldier too. He was Welsh and got along with the locals in the Catholic village.

I won't watch this series as I avoid Netflix due to it's radical liberal agenda. If I do watch anything from it I pirate it. I enjoyed the Dahmer series which I pirated.

Actually I misread the title, Disney+, I am on the fence with that streaming service.

Agent Coulson

Final trailer

Show drops today

https://youtu.be/FhxvEJV9xos?si=CmfNIMOcK99w9aTi

crushproof

Interesting to see this, a big budget show by the looks of it. However judging by the trailers it seems to glamorise the whole thing a bit too much?

George White

Shot in Liverpool mainly.

Should have been shot in Leeds, per Troubles drama tradition.

ShagNastii

Watched 3 episodes of this earlier.

Was fearing it’d be overly aimed at an American audience or a woke-ish feminist piece but it’s fantastic.

Well written, well acted and you can really see the big budget.

gmisk

Kinda surprised they could get away with the Gerry Adams character, the joys of a US production I suppose!

ShagNastii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122840545#Comment_122840545

The one liner at every credits borders on hilarious.

bodhrandude

How come this isn't available on my Firestick.

Agent Coulson

Fours episodes into it now and it's really good I must say.

siblers

The trailer did it a bit of a discredit, hit's excellent of what I've seen so far

drury..

9 episodes seems like crazy drawn out

George White

I see Stephen Rea is a character (obvs cos of his relationship with Dolours). Another big budget drama about a Crossroads actor, after Nolly. (Yes, Rea was in Crossroads as a Spanish chef in the late 60s).

Agent Coulson

Finished it this afternoon and I found it really good and a great showcase for Irish actors.

bodhrandude

Up to episode three in this and enjoying it, I think its presented fairly well and a decent cast, some unknown and a few known faces.

volchitsa

I must look for that. If it's Disney+ I might not be able to get it, but the trailer is marked Hulu/FX and I know I've seen some of those.

Choochtown

I'm 3 episodes in.

It's excellent. Brilliantly scripted, excellent performances, very real, very human but by no means does it shy away from the reality of what went on.

Also kudos to whoever did the job of selecting the music for the closing credits.

bodhrandude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122859652#Comment_122859652

I have to agree about the soundtrack, well chosen, Lankum have some very poignant songs that fit the sombre mood of the programme.

ShagNastii

Glad that The Scratch had a prominent song too.

Great for them to have such an audience.

suvigirl

Does this glamorous the Price sisters? The trailer looks like it might do.

Choochtown

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862853#Comment_122862853

For me at 3 episodes in it doesn't.

It doesn't dehumanise them either. The switching from 1970s to Dolours and Brendan Hughes interviews in early 2000s is very effective.

Highly recommended

muloc

Thought this was really good. Not sure how accurate it is but Gerry didn't come out of it too good.

witchgirl26

Not sure if I will watch this after hearing Michael McConville, one of Jean's sons, talk about it on Newstalk the other day. None of her family were consulted about either the book or the series and he indicated that some facts about her were incorrect. He was practically begging people to let the family just deal with their grief in private and not to make entertainment out of it like this drama series. It was very moving and did make me pause. I think it's one thing if the family are passive about it (even if not actively involved) but when they're actively asking for it to be left, maybe that should be respected.

ShagNastii

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862853#Comment_122862853

It did and it didn't. It was quite measured in terms of putting it from their side and how the fight for freedom, and their actions was somewhat honorable. I think Joan McConville part of the family arc was only really delved into in the modern-ish final three episodes and tonally had a bit of gravitas.

The whole "disappeared" piece sort of painted it as it is and I'd doubt any audience would be sympathetic to the Price sisters after broadcast.

Ashbourne hoop

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862853#Comment_122862853

After watching the complete series I'd suggest the exact opposite tbh. It's excellent, one of the best things I've watched in a long time.

bodhrandude

Back to the soundtrack again, when the McConville family find Jean's remains I thought the soundtrack of Martin Hayes on the fiddle and Denis Cahill on guitar very appropriate and plaintive, it tugs at the heart strings. Especially when the son recognises the safety pin on the lapel of the corpse.

Edit: Got that wrong its actually The Gloaming - The Sailor's Bonnet reel and air.

https://open.spotify.com/track/4LBe2y14doPT32nAmR8LeS?si=48d93d180db74ce6

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122865645#Comment_122865645

wouldn't say the exact opposite, it's very sympathetic towards dolours i thought. even in the early stuff it portrays marian as the colder, ruthless one.

AMKC

Just watched episode 5. It's really good. Much better than I thought it would be. I must admit I was hesitant to watch it at first as I thought it would be crap but it's not. It's even funny in parts. It's also quiet sad too. Looking forward to the last 4 episodes when I have time to watch them.

AMKC

Just finished it. That was excellent and very well done. Very sad in parts too.

I hope the 4 remaining disappeared are finally found some day.

Did Dolours Price over dose or as Wiki says mix up anti depressants and steroids?

NIMAN

ALso enjoyed it here, but i thought for the subject matter there was maybe a little too many light hearted moments.

Or maybe just me?

Like the British Army cracking gags about Gerry Adams dog etc , "perhaps he's Gerry Adams".

crushproof

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122898355#Comment_122898355

I think the dog story is true enough, or at least Gerry himself said before the army took his dog.

Fascinating series, the last couple of episodes were very dark and really hammered home the sense of loss among many people. I do feel like many who are not familiar with the Troubles won't realise how much of a long and drawn out conflict it was. Seemed to suggest it was primarily during Dolores's time of the early 70s.

I thought there would be some focus on the breaking of the ceasefire and Canary Wharf etc when Marian mentioned about a group getting together but that came to nothing in the show.

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122864782#Comment_122864782

The family themselves are very divided about the events. They were split up after her death, which doesn't help that of course.

The younger ones were brought up believing that their mother had abandoned them to run off with a British soldier, and that she had been an informer, when in fact there's almost no evidence that she was. Another rumour said that it was because she had helped a British soldier who was injured near her home.

You can imagine the childhood of bullying and cruelty that those children went through (or perhaps you can't, if you're not from Northern Ireland. Some of them were also abused in the children's homes they were sent to - I think everyone in Ireland can envisage that.

The point being that Michael doesn't want his mother's death to be treated as entertainment. I can completely understand his fears. I think it's up to the rest of us to ensure that doesn't happen. But IMO having a TV series about it is one way of making sure she isn't forgotten.

That said I haven't seen it yet, so my opinion is dependent on how it is portrayed. (I'm not in Ireland or the UK, and even though I have Disney+, we don't seem to have it on our version yet. I may have to try to get it through less orthodox routes if I can't find it some other way soon!)

De Bhál

7 episodes in. It's very good. Definitely worth watching

AMKC

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122904539#Comment_122904539

You may go the less Orthdox route do. It's well worth watching. Starts off kinda light enough with some humour but gets much darker towards the end.

brian_t

Marian Price is suing Disney+ over her depiction in it.

https://www.rte.ie/news/ulster/2024/1204/1484673-marian-price/

volchitsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122924868#Comment_122924868

Thanks. Bit busy between now and Christmas, so I'll probably wait and have a look for it then.

NIMAN

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122925205#Comment_122925205

Not surprised.

As someone who grew up in the north during the troubles, and would have known about the JMcC case, when I watched the show and seen that they just decided to show that a certain person actually pulled the trigger with no proof of the fact, i immediately thought,"surely they can't do that".

bodhrandude

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122926420#Comment_122926420

They might be forced to alter that ending, make it more ambiguous otherwise I suppose that's defamation if Marian hadn't actually pulled the trigger.

silliussoddius

Is there any chance that there’s something in the tapes they can fall back on? Making ip an accusation out of thin air seems to be a risky move.

gmisk

Its very watchable and pretty well done, with some parts that don't ring quite true, but hey it is a tv show.

But if someone really wants to watch something covering some similar ground the documentary once upon a time in Northern Ireland is terrific.

Raoul Duke III

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122862853#Comment_122862853

Absolutely not. The opposite.

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122935050#Comment_122935050

no, your man that wrote the book seems to have come up with the idea that there was a third person there. not sure why if marian was named in the book too, he hasn't been sued before

this is worth reading, a response to the book by a jorno, ed moloney, who was involved in boston college tapes & interviewed for the book.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/05/02/an-american-reporter-in-belfast-how-a-new-yorker-writer-got-so-much-wrong-in-his-bestselling-book-on-the-troubles/

batistuta9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122940921#Comment_122940921

must watch that sometime. also meant to watch spotlight: on the troubles, you ever see it