Dirty doings in Iraq

ROUTE Irish is, or was, the most dangerous road in the world – the link between Baghdad’s airport and the famed Green Zone.
Here, British director Ken Loach takes us inside the world of dirty doings of security contractors (in another time they’d have been called mercenaries) in Iraq.
Frankie (John Bishop) has been killed in murky circumstances in Iraq, and best mate Fergus (Mark Womack), now back in Britain, comes to suspect his employer.
Along the way, Fergus also consoles the late Frankie’s girlfriend (Andrea Lowe), in a most inappropriate fashion.
Fergus has been around, including the inevitable stint in the SAS.
There is an almost constant feeling that famously left-wing director Loach is an outsider to the world of the military.
It’s a very literal, linear telling of the tale, and I’m not sure the lead really convinces as a military hard man.
Apparently, professional actors have been mixed in with some real-life people, and I’m not sure it’s a winning mix.
There’s also a general feeling that the Poms seldom do these life-and-death thrillers as well as the Yanks – there’s always a sense of playing second fiddle.
There’s a suitably violent ending but, for all that, it’s strictly one for devotees or the arthouse crowd.
– Jason Beck