Steve McQueen's 'Hunger' by Callum Brown

Hunger tells the true story of Bobby Sands and how he led the 1981 Irish republican prisoners Hunger strikes in order to defy Margaret Thatcher’s removal of Special Category Status. 75 inmates agreed to the strike and unlike the last hunger strike he lead, this one was to have prisoners start 2 weeks apart to make the death toll last longer. During his strike he was elected into British parliament as an Anti H-Block candidate, after his death a further 9 inmates died before the strike was called off, in the following months the British government granted all the inmates’ demands but without any formal recognition of political status. Bobby Sands died 66 days after starting the strike. The strike consisted of 5 demands. The hunger strike centred on five demands.

      1.    The right not to wear a prison uniform.

2.     The right not to do prison work.

3.     The right of free association with other prisoners, and to organise educational and recreational pursuits.

4.     The right to one visit, one letter and one parcel per week.

5.     Full restoration of remission lost through the protest.

Steve McQueen’s debut feature length film hits hard through its emotional tug and shocking honesty, as we’ve come to know from McQueen, he holds no barriers when delivering the brutal truth. Although there is barley any dialog throughout the film, it doesn’t need it, the story is told through the events that proceed. Whilst the film is admittedly slow, and it takes a good half an hour before meeting our lead character (portrayed by the ever brilliant Michael Fassbender) the time is filled with showing the disgusting conditions in which the prisoners were forced to live in, which is important as we have to learn why Sands is prepared to give his own life, and persuade others to do the same in order to get things changed. The scenes that take place and the violation of human rights are necessary to the narrative, and the film would simply not be as effective without them. The suffering endured throughout the film and the decision to do something about it is why I think it makes great research material for the film I intend to make, not to mention the fact that it is all based upon a true story. Fassbender performance is brilliant as usual, one of the only dialog scenes that takes place lasts a good 25 minutes with only one cut, showing how incredible these actors are. McQueen’s debut is a triumph and besides Tarantino’s ‘Reservoir Dogs’ the best I have seen, although I agree McQueen’s films are simply getting better every time he makes one, with this, Shame and 12 Years a slave being his only feature lengths to date he has an incredible run so far, and a portfolio any director would envy.