Click here for a video version of this review: https://youtu.be/Geuu7kVab2k

Anyone who knows me will know that I'm fan of dark and dreary movies and the Netflix movie _Black 47_ certainly meets this description.

_In 1847, when Ireland is in the grip of the Great Famine that has ravaged the country for two long years, Feeney, a hardened Irish Ranger who has been fighting for the British Army abroad, returns home to reunite with his estranged family, only to discover the cruelest reality, a black land where death reigns._

I love a good revenge film and this delivers on its promise of a cold hard story. This is a real solid film that had me gripped right from the get-go. James Frecheville who plays Feeney is dead eyed and terrifying as he slowly tracks down those that have done wrong to his family, and you can't help but cheer him on as the a-hole English soldiers chase him. Hugo Weaving is great as Hannah, the former soldier tasked with helping the English chase Feeney, and the cat and mouse game that ensues really pulled me in. The conflict that Hannah has plays well into the story, and his "in it for his own reasons" angle adds a good "will he or won't he" aspect to the events of the film.

The film makers do an excellent job of showing just how hard and awful things were during the Irish famine, and how cheap life was. There is a courthouse scene where someone is sentenced to hard labour in Tasmania, half a world away for the crime of stealing a sheep to feed his family. In fact that mention of Tasmania, and the film as a whole reminded me a lot of the absolutely brilliant film _The Nightingale_, that we watched last year. If you enjoyed _The Nightingale_ then this too will be right up your alley.

So, if you're looking for a bleak and hopeless film with a huge grey zone between good guys and bad guys, _Black 47_ will be a worthy addition to your watchlist.