Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

This is a most convincing film; particularly the performance by Gerard McSorley as the father of the son who is murdered by the IRA. But really all the actors and settings give an authentic feel. This film could easily gone have over the top with histrionics, but it always does provide a strong emotional persuasiveness through-out.The film resonates without being overly political and the main purpose is to show how terrorist violence devastates not just one family – but several families. We follow as they try to obtain justice and bring to trial the murderers. They weave through Northern Ireland politics to attempt a closure on this dreadful act of terror. Unfortunately they never found it.

I have heard some comparisons between Omagh and Bloody Sunday: Paul Greengrass, realistic portrayals, eye-level shots, shaky camera, subject matter (northern Ireland)...etc. But content and objective-wise, the two films could not be more different. Now I am not going into details with how they are different but in a nutshell: Bloody Sunday is more or less an account from someone looking by, and the story surrounding an authoritative figure and how he dealt with the crisis. Omagh however, is a true story of an ordinary citizen: middle aged mechanic, family-orientated, not a bother in the world.So onto my actual thoughts of Omagh: For the many victims of the tragedy, families go through stages of sadness: accepting the truth, deal with the truth then somehow, move on. Justice is also what most if not all, look for. But the perception of justice may vary depending on how far you are willing to go. Gallagher for example, found out for himself that the mountain of bureaucracy was too high and steep to climb and as an ordinary citizen, it was simply impossible to go through ordinary channels to get answers. He also had questions of his own which involved choosing between going the distance and may or may not catch those responsible, OR doing what his family considered right and "move on", by supporting his wife and daughters and "be there for them". This emotional turmoil was portrayed with great effect and what I would consider a very realistic representation of a man struck by tragedy that very much came from nowhere. It was done with respect, and achieved the balance between subtly and over-the-top clichés.As part of an audience, you cannot help but draw comparisons amongst those members of the Omagh Support Group. The radical and loud Laurence Rush, Stanley the level-headed father, and several others. That highlights how differently people react when they realize that truth and justice may very well be out of reach. Of course there are different reactions but ultimately Gallagher in a way decides to let it go somewhat and at the end, although declaring to continue investigation into the prosecution of those responsible; stepped back and moved on.To this day, even with none of the suspects charged or prosecuted, I hope the victims' families have found the peace they once lost. Justice, unfortunately may not be reachable with money and power but peace is priceless, its simply something you find inside yourself and cannot be bought, bargained or sold. That, in my opinion, is what truly matters.

Behind the more sensational political subject of the film lies the quieter sub-plot of a father's love for his dead son. With the glut of movies dealing with a mother's weepy love for her children one might assume that women are the only parents that love their children or that hysterical tears are the only way to express love for one's child. In this case, that father, Michael, is told a dozen ways he should feel and another dozen ways he should act in order to take care of his family with no one wondering or caring what Michael feels or needs. Michael's explanation of his feelings to his wife near the end of the film manages to break the viewer's heart without sobbing hysterically. To his wife's credit, she opens her eyes, stops her whining, and finally thinks about her husband's feeling before her own.

OMAGH tells the story of a terrorist bombing in a northern Ireland hamlet that killed 29 people in the mid 90s. It follows a father and several others who try over the next several years to get justice for their murdered kin. The movie ends on an ambivalent note, as it was based on a true story. No one is ever held responsible for the bombing, although several terrorists that may have been involved are eventually incarcerated for other misdeeds. The movie is filmed and told in documentary fashion, using a jittery, swooping hand-held camera, and it works most of the time. The film is actually very subdued, very low key, and in the end this lack of heightened histrionics tends to work against it. We are happy when it is finally over, especially as we are led to understand halfway through that the bombers will never be caught or prosecuted. Brenda Fricker has a cameo as an ombudsman. Otherwise, the rather large cast, presumably including some real villagers, is unknown to American audiences.