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"'71"

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Spotlight

The British action drama "'71" is a compelling look at violence and double-dealing in the heart of Belfast during "The Troubles." Pvt. Gary Hook (Jack O'Connell) is a wet-behind-the-ears British Army recruit just assigned to a security unit in Belfast, essentially an occupying army in Northern Ireland. He barely learns how to tell Catholic from Protestant areas when his unit is attacked by an angry mob, and he's abandoned and left alone on the streets. Hook tries to survive the night, and he soon learns that he cannot trust anyone — even his own government's intelligence agents. Director Yann Demange and screenwriter Gregory Booth keep the focus tight on Hook's plight, with riveting action sequences from the nervous rookie's point of view. In the lead role, O'Connell is more engaging here than he was in the stiflingly noble "Unbroken."

- Sean P. Means

"'71" is screening in the Spotlight section of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. It screens again: Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., The MARC, Park City; Wednesday, 6:30 p.m., Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, Salt Lake City; Sunday, Feb. 1, 10 a.m., Sundance Screening Room, Sundance resort.