'Say Nothing' Reviews: "a must-see for true crime aficionados and history buffs"

         On November 14, 2024, FX premiered 'Say Nothing', which quickly garnered rave reviews from critics, resulting in a score of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the limited series, which in my early prediction will be an Emmy contender, centers on "Murder in Northern Ireland during The Troubles; shocking disappearance of Jean McConville, a single mother of ten who was abducted from her home in 1972 and never seen alive again." The ensemble cast includes Lola Petticrew, Anthony Boyle, Josh Finan, Maxine Peake, and Hazel Doupe. Read the full review round-up below.

        Liam Mathews of TV Guide says, "The limited series is an elegiac drama about the psychological toll of political violence, told in such a way that its perpetrators are not heroes or villains, just people clinging to the idea that what they're doing is right." Adding, "Say Nothing is a narrative adaptation of the 2018 nonfiction book of the same name by Patrick Radden Keefe. It tells the story of several Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers in Belfast fighting for the cause of Irish unification during the Troubles, the decades-long period of violent conflict between republican paramilitaries and British forces in British-controlled Northern Ireland. It primarily follows Dolours Price, one of the IRA's most well-known figures, played as a fierce and charismatic young woman by Lola Petticrew and in tired and disappointed middle age by Maxine Peake. Dolours is a fascinating character, a brilliant and beautiful woman who could have left Belfast and done anything she wanted, but chose to stay and fight for a just cause in a divisive and destructive way."

       Isabella Soares of Collider praises the series, stating, "Throughout the course of the series, questions surrounding morality, violence in the name of a cause, and political warfare arise, making this production a must-see for true crime aficionados and history buffs."

Photo by Aldo De La Paz on Unsplash

        Tim Lowery of AV Club notes, "However, something about the production (it could be the reliance on a score that, at times, double-underlines the tick-tock drama and trauma these people are absorbing) doesn’t quite suck you in like the book does, even as it deploys well-choreographed, high-octane chases and attempts to stick faithfully to the source material. (Like in Keefe’s telling, the show is bookended by the case of Jean McConville [Judith Roddy], a mother of ten who was abducted by masked IRA members from her flat in 1972.) Although often bursting with style and period details, things unfold almost at a slight distance. In terms of where Say Nothing sits with other onscreen depictions of The Troubles, particularly those of the ’90s during the height of pop culture’s fascination with the conflict, it’s much more in line with the good stuff (like In The Name Of The Father by Jim Sheridan, whose daughter Kirsten wrote for this show) than the bad or, perhaps more accurately, dumb (Patriot Games). (Interestingly, Dolours herself was married to actor Stephen Rea, the star of The Crying Game.) And what’s more, it feels far more exhaustive and complete, with, indeed, something to say and plenty for viewers to discuss after its elegiac ending. It’s just too bad, then, that the book was so damn good."