Ken Loach applies his hallmark sensitivity and humanity to the intricate subject of Irish republicanism and the effects of occupation and its aftermath on a nation. Beautifully rendered and evocative of 1920s Ireland, Cillian Murphy and Padraic Delaney play brothers who take up arms against the occupying British in the guerilla war that led to the establishment of the Free State. Later, with the British on their way out, continued conflict tests loyalties when brothers land on opposite sides of the Civil War. Typical of Loach, the film is free of histrionics that could distract from the subject, and he and writer Paul Laverty shun over-characterization of the British to keep the focus on the brothers` political and personal drama.