It was 1997. Brad Pitt was the biggest movie star on the planet, fresh off Se7en and 12 Monkeys. Then came the Brad Pitt IRA film—formally known as The Devil’s Own—and everything kind of went sideways. You probably remember the posters: Pitt’s rugged blonde looks contrasted against Harrison Ford’s grizzled authority. It looked like a standard-issue 90s thriller. But the reality was a messy, politically charged, and incredibly expensive production that almost destroyed Pitt's reputation at the time.
Honestly, calling it a "Brad Pitt IRA film" is the most accurate way to describe how the public saw it, even if the studio wanted a "Harrison Ford Action Movie." The plot followed Frankie McGuire (Pitt), a Provisional IRA member who travels to New York to buy Stinger missiles. He stays with an unsuspecting Irish-American cop, Tom O’Meara (Ford), under an alias. Chaos, naturally, ensues. But the drama on screen was nothing compared to the script battles and the political fallout that happened once the cameras stopped rolling.
Why The Devil’s Own Became a PR Nightmare
Most people don't realize how close Brad Pitt came to walking away from the project entirely. He famously called the production a "disaster" and "the most irresponsible bit of filmmaking—if you can even call it that—that I’ve ever seen." He said this to Newsweek before the movie even came out. Talk about a marketing department's worst nightmare. He felt the script he signed on for—a dark, character-driven piece—had been gutted to make room for a generic Ford vehicle.
The script was being rewritten while they were shooting. Literally.
Imagine showing up to work and not knowing if your character is a hero or a terrorist that day. That was Pitt’s reality. He wanted to explore the complexities of a man driven to violence by the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Instead, the studio seemingly wanted more scenes of Harrison Ford looking stern and chasing people. This tug-of-war is visible in every frame of the film. You’ve got Pitt doing a surprisingly decent Belfast accent, trying to bring soul to a killer, while the movie around him tries to turn into Lethal Weapon.
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The Conflict Between Two Icons
The tension between Pitt and Ford wasn't just about screen time. It was about the soul of the Brad Pitt IRA film. Ford is a legendary collaborator, but he’s known for having a very specific "hero" lens. Pitt, at that stage in his career, was desperate to be a character actor in a leading man’s body. He didn't want the audience to like Frankie McGuire easily.
Rumors of onset feuds were everywhere. While both actors eventually played it down as "healthy creative differences," the friction was palpable. Ford wanted a story about a good cop facing a moral dilemma. Pitt wanted a gritty exploration of the IRA's cycle of violence. The result? A movie that feels like two different scripts stitched together with duct tape.
The Political Minefield of the IRA in Hollywood
Hollywood has always had a complicated relationship with the Troubles. Before the Brad Pitt IRA film, we had The Crying Game and In the Name of the Father. Those were prestige dramas. The Devil’s Own tried to be a summer blockbuster about a very real, very bloody conflict that was still ongoing in 1997. The Good Friday Agreement wouldn't be signed for another year.
Because of this, the film was under a microscope.
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If you make the IRA character too sympathetic, you're accused of glorifying terrorism. If you make him a one-dimensional villain, you lose the "edge" that attracted a star like Pitt in the first place. The movie tries to walk a middle line that, frankly, satisfies almost nobody. It portrays Frankie’s motivations—watching his father killed in front of him—with empathy, but then forces him into a standard "bad guy" role by the third act.
The Accent and the Dedication
Give credit where it's due: Pitt didn't half-ass this. He spent time in Belfast. He worked with dialect coaches to nail the specific cadence of a Northern Irish accent. For an American heartthrob in the 90s, that was a huge risk. Usually, actors just did a generic "lucky charms" brogue. Pitt’s effort was genuine.
Even today, if you ask people in Ireland about the Brad Pitt IRA film, they usually mention the accent. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't the disaster people expected. It showed a level of commitment to the craft that would eventually lead him to his Oscar-winning roles later in life. He wasn't just there for the paycheck; he wanted to tell a story about the weight of history.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Ending
The ending of The Devil’s Own is often criticized for being "Hollywood-ized." Without spoiling a decades-old movie, it involves a showdown on a boat. It’s the kind of ending you see in every thriller from 1992 to 1998.
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But the original intent was much darker.
Pitt’s version of the story supposedly ended with a much more ambiguous moral note. There was more focus on the tragedy of Frankie’s life rather than the triumph of Ford’s character. The version we got was the result of heavy studio interference and test screenings. They wanted a "win" for the audience. But in a story about the IRA, "winning" isn't really a thing that happens. That’s the nuance that got lost in the shuffle.
Practical Takeaways for Film Buffs and History Fans
If you're going back to watch the Brad Pitt IRA film today, or if you're researching the era, there are a few things to keep in mind to get the most out of it.
- Watch the background details: Despite the messy script, the production design is top-tier. The contrast between the cold, rainy streets of Belfast and the domestic warmth of the New York suburbs is intentional and effective.
- Contrast it with The Jackal: Also released around that time, it shows how Hollywood was obsessed with "foreign terrorists" as the go-to villain after the Cold War ended.
- Look for the "Pitt-isms": You can see the beginnings of the quirky, physical acting style he would later perfect in Snatch and Fight Club.
To truly understand the impact of this film, look at how Brad Pitt chose his roles afterward. He almost entirely stopped doing "standard" action movies. He went for Snatch, Fight Club, and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It’s like the experience of making The Devil’s Own taught him exactly what kind of actor he didn't want to be. He learned that being a "movie star" often meant losing control of the narrative, and he spent the next twenty years making sure that never happened again.
If you want to dive deeper into the history of the era, read up on the 1994 IRA ceasefire. The movie was filmed during a incredibly tense time when that ceasefire was breaking down. This wasn't just "movie magic" to the people living through it; it was their daily reality. Understanding that context makes Pitt's frustration with the "irresponsible" filmmaking make a lot more sense. He knew the stakes were higher than just box office numbers.
Next Steps for the Curious
For those who want to see the "Pre-Hollywood" version of this story, check out the original script drafts by Kevin Jarre if you can find them in film archives. They are significantly more bleak and focused on the Frankie McGuire character. Alternatively, compare this film to Hunger (2008) or ’71 (2014) to see how modern cinema handles the same subject matter with much less studio-mandated "glamour." Those films provide the grit that Pitt was clearly searching for back in 1997 but wasn't allowed to deliver.