Hunger is a 2008 British movie, the first to be directed by artist Steve McQueen (
no relation to the 60's action star). It involves Irish prisoners of
The Troubles, and the various ways they protest, starting with "no-wash" protests and ending in hunger strikes and stars Irish actor
Michael Fassbender.
Not to be confused with the
Prototype fanfic of the
same name.
Tropes used in Hunger include:
- Career Killers: Officer Raymond Lohan get's shot by an IRA assassin as he goes to visit his catatonic mother.
- Doing It for the Art: DEAR GOD. Michael Fassbender dropped over thirty pounds to accurately portray Sands, and co-star Liam Cunningham actually moved in with Fassbender for a while so they could rehearse their seventeen-minute long conversation. It took four takes.
- Fan Disservice: Continually naked men would be appealing to some, except they're unwashed, unnaturally thin, and often abused by prison officers.
- Foregone Conclusion: The American DVD box tells you that it involves "[Bobby] Sands' last days." Needless to say, he dies in the end.
- Leave the Camera Running: Long shots of walls, corridors, hands, etc. being washed.
- Imagine Spot: [[spoiler:Just before Bobby Sanders dies he vividly experiences a memory of him jogging in the woods as a child.
- Invulnerable Knuckles: Averted, prison officer Raymond hurts his hand pretty badly after punching the wall by accident.
- Mercy Kill: Bobby tells the story of an injured foal that he and his friends found at a young age. And that he took the initiative to end it's suffering, knowing that it was the right thing to do.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Some of the prisoners get brutally beaten by a collection of riot officers.
- The Oner: Several count as Leave the Camera Running. Particularly notable is a scene where Bobby Sands and his priest discuss the upcoming hunger strike; it goes for 17 and a half minutes, a record length.
- Shoot the Shaggy Dog: Almost. Bobby Sands dies, 9 more men die after him, and their goal (the status of political prisoner) is never accomplished. They do, however, get other rights granted to the other prisoners.
- Silence Is Golden: Much of the film goes by with little to no dialogue.
- Squick: Just how unsanitary and dirty the prisoners cells are, particularly the large spiral shape on a cell wall drawn with fecess.
- The Troubles
- Viewers Are Geniuses: The movie never stops to explain why the prisoners refuse to wash, wear blankets, etc.
- As the film is British, most of its viewers would be aware of Northern Ireland's political history and the wash protests and hunger strikes.
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