‘Say Nothing’ Review: FX’s Shrewd Historical Thriller Revisits The Troubles via Two Sister-Soldiers
In 1972, a woman named Jean McConville was abducted from her home, in front of her 10 children, never to return. She was suspected of being a tout — or an informant for the British Army — and during the peak of the The Troubles, suspicion was all it took to be taken away for good. The Irish Republican Army and its sympathizers dominated Jean’s neighborhood. They were waging a war that their enemies refused to acknowledge as a war (over fears of legitimizing the opposition), which only escalated animosity among the oppressed Catholic people. Their actions — robberies, bombings, murder — demanded to be taken seriously, so even those who didn’t want to participate in the conflict found themselves caught up in it, one way or another. Jean’s way was worst of all.
But her fate is only one focal point in “Say Nothing,” the nine-episode limited series from FX Productions based on Patrick Radden Keefe’s 2018 nonfiction book of the same name. Most of the narrative, from creator and executive producer Joshua Zetumer, follows two sisters born into the IRA and whose devotion to the cause is repeatedly tested. But while Jean’s disappearance frames her captors as brutish fanatics — able and willing to orphan 10 children without blinking an eye — the Price sisters’ experience in the IRA lends credence to the cause in a way that isn’t just illustrative of varied perspectives. It emphasizes who’s asked to carry the heaviest burdens, who gets caught in the crossfire (so to speak), what binds those two groups, and what keeps them apart, whenever war is waged from the top down.
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Framed around an interview, in which an older Dolours Price (played by Maxine Peake) reflects on her past, “Say Nothing” starts when the sisters force their way into the IRA. Teenage Dolours (Lola Petticrew) and Marian (Hazel Doupe) have been raised by a father who’s extremely proud of his oft-violent contributions to the army. Her mother served, as well, but Dolours and Marian don’t want to settle for “women’s work.” Driven by the conviction of a young woman who’s already witnessed more first-hand discrimination and hate than anyone should see in a lifetime, the sisters want to fight. They want to help the IRA by robbing banks, not rolling bandages. They want to set explosives, not the table. They’re ready for action, even if they’re too green to recognize the sacrifice they’re signing up to make.
Desperate times lead to desperate choices, and the IRA ranking officers don’t need much convincing to take Dolours and Marian up on their offer. That’s how we meet Gerry Adams (Josh Finan), the local leader who — as we’re told via text-on-screen at the end of every episode — denies ever being a part of the IRA, let alone one of its top officers. If that rings any alarm bells in regard to his treatment of Dolours and Marian, first of all, it should, and second of all, they’re already sounding off thanks to Finan’s silent, slimy charisma. With his fisherman’s sweaters and thick-framed glasses, Gerry channels a sort of intellectual of the people — a brainy manager who can still mix it up with the day laborers.
But his No. 2, Brendan Hughes (Anthony Boyle), is the guy who gets things done. Introduced while robbing a bank being patronized by the Price family — in one of the show’s better bits of dark humor, the women are ordered at gunpoint to get on the floor, but as soon as their assailants flee the scene, Mrs. Price (Kerri Quinn) stands up and nonchalantly asks her girls, ““I think we’ll go to the grocer?” — Brendan is the heart and soul of the movement. He’s passionate. He’s dedicated. His typical Tuesday involves a number of felonies and, on a good day, a few fewer bullets. Brendan’s quite the charmer, but the brilliance of his arc is discovering how he, himself, has been charmed.
Following their enlistment, “Say Nothing” covers four decades through the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 (which unofficially marked the end of The Troubles). Although it’s based in history, for anyone unaware of the Price sisters’ saga, experiencing their journey unspoiled is likely best. The series operates as an effective, engaging thriller, wrapped around the true-crime mystery of what happened to Jean McConville. Production values are high. Buildings and bombs, cars and costumes all bring the era to life in stark detail. Sharp editing keeps episodes at a tight 40-45 minutes each, and each entry has a memorable, clear arc unto itself. The cast is uniformly strong, with Petticrew and Doupe as obvious but deserved stand-outs, plus Boyle making the most of a role that pivots on its ruthless efficiency.
But no matter how solidly built, “Say Nothing” was never going to be an easy watch, and it’s even more heartbreaking in America’s current political climate. Watching a righteous uprising rise and fall is hard enough at a time when resistance is all we have to hang our hopes, but this particular series, led by two tenacious women, operates under the wider assertion that those with the most enthusiasm and least power are likely to suffer the worst fates. The truth hurts, as they say, and “Say Nothing” carries an extra sting arriving just over a week after a catastrophic election. That’s far from a slight against this impressive, dynamic adaptation. But among the show’s many intriguing takeaways is a clear, demonstrable belief: Staying silent isn’t the answer.
Grade: B+
“Say Nothing” premieres Thursday, November 14 on Hulu. All nine episodes will be released at once.
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