50 Dead Men Walking

• Belfast hoodlum Martin (Jim Sturgess) is recruited by a British agent (BenKingsley) to infiltrate the IRA during the height of the Northern Irish conflict and quickly becomes embroiled in a dangerous game that could cost him his life if his secret is found out. As other informers are brutally murdered, Martin starts to look for away out, but his handler urges him to stay undercover in this taut ac

For more than four years, Martin McGartland lived the astonishing life of a secret agent. To the IRA, he was a trusted Intelligence Office and an integral member of an active service unit. To the British Government however, he was known only as Agent Carol. Martin McGartland is credited by British Intelligence with saving the lives of at least 50 people. Every time he tipped off the authorities, he risked detection and yet, heroically and fearlessly, he continued to pass on! life-saving information. Finally, his cover was blown. Martin was taken from Sinn Fein headquarters in Belfast to an IRA safehouse for questioning and almost certain execution. Though guarded by three armed IRA men, in a desperate bid for freedom, he dived from a third floor window. This breathtaking story is now a major film starring Sir Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess.   "The film is as near to the truth as earth is to pluto.  It is 99% fiction.  Read, the true story in my first book Fifty Dead Men Walking."  Says Marty.  Vist Marty's website: martinmcgartland.co.uk

Song/Video from Fifty Dead Men Walking Film - Jim Sturgess Playing me (Sort Of); youtube.com/watch?v 

Belfast hoodlum Martin (Jim Sturgess) is recruited by a British agent (Ben Kingsley) to infiltrate the IRA during the height of the Northern Irish conflict and quickly becomes embroiled in a dangerous game that could cost him his li! fe if his secret is found out. As other informers are brutally! murdere d, Martin starts to look for a way out, but his handler urges him to stay undercover in this taut action packed thriller based on a true story.In her nerve-jangling adaptation of Martin McGartland's memoir, director Kari Skogland takes the politics out of an inherently political scenario. As Martin, Jim Sturgess (21) affects a convincing accent as a "Catholic hood selling stolen goods" in Belfast in 1988. When the British Special Branch catches Martin in the act and coerces him to inform on the Irish Republican Army in lieu of jail time, he takes the bait, knowing full well the army will kill him if they find out. Once his girlfriend, Lara (Natalie Press), becomes pregnant, the income the British provide becomes more necessary than ever. Further, Martin's sympathetic handler, Fergus (Ben Kingsley in fine form), turns out to be even more of an ally than his best mate, Sean (Kevin Zegers). During Martin's days with the IRA, he also meets the flame-haired Grace (Rose McG! owan in an underwritten role), who offers him a vision of a different life. The title refers to the belief that Martin's intelligence saved the lives of 50 potential targets, though the film suggests he acted more out of self-interest than a sense of duty. It's also hard to imagine that anyone raised in Northern Ireland could remain so resolutely apolitical--but it isn't inconceivable either. The real-life informer survived where many others did not, though he's been living under an assumed name since. Extras include deleted scenes, 30 minutes of fairly unilluminating B-roll (unused) footage, and commentary from Skogland, who states, "Ultimately, this movie is not a political story; this is a human drama." --Kathleen C. Fennessy