We’re almost at the end of Outlander after eight glorious seasons, and if you just want more Caitríona Balfe in your life, we have just the movie for you to watch tonight or over the upcoming Easter break.
Written and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Belfast was released in cinemas in January 2022 in the UK and Ireland. It was the filmmaker’s most personal movie to date, inspired by his own childhood in Northern Ireland. Balfe stars alongside Jamie Dornan as the parents to nine-year-old Buddy (Jude Hill), as he grows up during The Troubles in Belfast.
Belfast was a hit with the critics when it was released and stands at an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from 331 reviews. “Possibly the most uplifting film ever made about a time of unending violence,” wrote Time Out, with Time Magazine adding: “It’s hard to resist the movie’s affectionate energy.”
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If that sounds like something you want to watch, Belfast is available to watch right now on BBC iPlayer, following its airing last night on BBC Two. It’ll be available to watch on the streaming service for the next 29 days.
It wasn’t just a hit with the critics either as it’s got plenty of fans on IMDb, with one calling it a “stunning slice of life”, adding: “It is Branagh’s most personal film, being autobiographical in subject matter, and his best in some time.”
Another noted: “It’s an excellent film, it’s no surprise that it did so well at the awards, deservedly so. It’s moving, it’s funny, it’s bleak and sad in equal measures.”
Belfast was also nominated for seven Oscars, winning Best Original Screenplay for Branagh, and received six BAFTA nominations too, winning Outstanding British Film.
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Talking to Digital Spy ahead of the debut of Outlander’s final season, Balfe and co-star Sam Heughan admitted that even they didn’t know how the show would end. “There were lots of versions of the script going around because they wanted to keep what actually happened a secret,” Balfe noted.
Heughan added: “There was a lot of anticipation because we kept asking [about it], but I think they were going to go in different directions. We don’t know how it ends, really. We’ve obviously shot it but in the edit it could change, so we don’t quite know.”
Belfast is available to watch now on BBC iPlayer.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.