Summary

• The Wind That Shakes The Barley values historical accuracy and focuses on the effects of war on society.
• Cillian Murphy's subtle performance in the film showcases his ability to portray complex emotions.
• While not his first war movie, this project differs from Murphy's other roles with a more internal, thought-provoking approach.

War movies haven’t always been a genre that Cillian Murphy has been associated with, but in the early days of his career, the Irish actor starred in a war drama that features one of his most underrated performances to date. The film, titled The Wind That Shakes The Barley, was directed by Ken Loach and follows two brothers as they fight in the war for Irish independence and quickly find themselves on opposing sides when a treaty is negotiated. This gripping, heartbreaking story of identity and freedom is one of Cillian Murphy’s best movies yet.

What makes The Wind That Shakes The Barley such a fascinating, emotional watch is how strongly it values historical accuracy and leans into the educational side of storytelling. While the characters are definitely the most important part of this story, there’s a lot of attention paid to the backdrop of the war and its effects on society as a whole. Although it was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer that made Cillian Murphy the first Irish Best Actor-winner, smaller projects like The Wind That Shakes The Barley showcased his talents long before the 2023 film's release.

What The Wind That Shakes The Barley Is About & Who’s In it

The War Drama Features Some Recognizable Faces

The Wind That Shakes The Barley was written by Ken Loach’s long-time collaborator Paul Laverty and takes place during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War that followed; the story centers around two brothers who fight alongside each other for independence, but their conflicting beliefs cause a chasm when they’re fighting against each other in the civil war. The film takes its title from Robert Dwyer Joyce’s famous song of the same name, which can be heard early in the film and tells the story of the 1798 rebellion in Ireland.

Starring in the cast are Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney as brothers Damien and Teddy, who are t protagonists in this large-scale narrative. Alongside them are Game of Thrones’ Liam Cunningham and Law & Order: UK’s Orla Fitzgerald as Dan and Sinead respectively - two fascinating side characters whose presence hugely raises the stakes of this story. The film was an enormous success upon release, widely considered among the best Palme D’Or winners at the Cannes Film Festival.

The Wind That Shakes The Barley Is One Of Cillian Murphy’s Best Performances

He's Much More Subtle And Restrained Than Usual

The Wind That Shakes The Barley is a deeply poignant and personal story of family, sacrifice, and fighting for what you believe in. Every scene is bursting with emotion, and the characters are all complex figures who face challenges at every step of their journey. This provides the perfect recipe for Cillian Murphy to do what he does best, getting the audience on his side and presenting his feelings through the screen in one of his most vulnerable, heartbreaking performances to date.

[Murphy] strikes a perfect balance of subtlety without being too distant, which is why it’s so easy to empathize with his character in The Wind That Shakes The Barley.

Murphy is great at exaggerated sci-fi roles like Sunshine or Inception, and he’s great at the loud and brash protagonists like Tommy Shelby in Peaky Blinders, but what he proved with Oppenheimer (and first with Ken Loach’s project) is that he’s best when being quiet, self-reflective and reserved. He strikes a perfect balance of subtlety without being too distant, which is why it’s so easy to empathize with his character in The Wind That Shakes The Barley. These are Cillian Murphy’s best roles, as they allow him to really display the depths of his acting abilities.

How The Wind That Shakes The Barley Compares To Murphy’s Other War Movies

It Was Neither Murphy's First Nor Last Wartime Adventure

Although Cillian Murphy hasn’t appeared in many war movies throughout his career, there are some examples that provide both similarities and differences from this project. The most popular example is Dunkirk, where he plays a shell-shocked soldier who’s taken aboard a British boat sailing for the rescue beaches. This is a much louder and more violent role, as he’s dealing with severe trauma and coming to with his situation - his work in The Wind That Shakes The Barley is more internal, thought-provoking, and subtle. In many ways, it’s more similar to Oppenheimer than anything else.

Although Oppenheimer isn’t a war movie in the most obvious sense of the phrase, the entire purpose of the narrative centers around winning the Second World War. Throughout his journey, Oppenheimer is grappling with the consequences of warfare, trying to make sense of his own ideological values and decide whether he’s morally right or not. That’s very similar to Damien’s situation in The Wind That Shakes The Barley: he’s risking everything by fighting against his family, but he values justice and morality above all else.