Jim Sheridan's ‘Re-creation' Puts One of Ireland's Most Troubling Murder Cases Back on Trial
For Jim Sheridan, the defense of the falsely accused isn't just a theme — it's a calling embedded deep in his DNA. 'My mother blamed herself for killing her mother, who died in childbirth,' says the Irish director and playwright. 'So it was inherent in me. In the womb, from the fucking start, this feeling for the wrongly accused.'
That unwavering obsession, one that has powered the six-time Oscar nominee's career—from In the Name of the Father (1993), starring Daniel Day-Lewis as wrongly convicted IRA suspect Gerry Conlon, to his latest project Re-creation, which had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on Sunday—traces back to what Sheridan calls his 'pre-natal sense of guilt.'
More from The Hollywood Reporter
Regina Hall, Ice Spice Join New 'SpongeBob' Movie
ITV Studios Names Tim Carter Managing Director, Unscripted, U.K.
Disney+ Names Angela Jain Content Chief for EMEA Amid Slate Growth Push
'Whenever that happens,' he says, 'when I see somebody wrongly accused, it just flips a switch, and I go nuts, you know? I can't deal with it.'
With Re-creation, Sheridan and co-director David Merriman explore one of Ireland's most haunting unsolved crimes: The 1996 murder of French film producer Sophie Toscan du Plantier, who was found brutally beaten outside her holiday home in Toormore, West Cork. The film constructs a fictionalized courtroom trial that never happened for a case that remains unresolved to this day.
Sheridan already explored the case in a 5-part TV documentary, A Murder at the Cottage (2021), but came away with the sense he didn't do justice to the story. With Re-creation, he blends fiction, docudrama, and emotion in a way that defies genre conventions.
'I suppose, because I wanted to put into fiction what I couldn't put into documentary reality,' he explains. 'I wanted to show the blur between the lines between documentary, reality and fiction.'
The hybrid formallowed Sheridan to address what he saw as failures in both the media and legal responses to du Plantier's murder—particularly the treatment of Ian Bailey, an English journalist and the primary suspect, who was arrested but never charged in Ireland, convicted in absentia in France, and who died still professing his innocence in 2024.
Bailey's story came to global attention with the 2021 Netflix series Sophie: A Murder in West Cork, which Sheridan believes deeply misrepresented the truth. The My Left Foot and In America director has harsh words for the whole genre of true crime, which he sees as often driven by sensationalism and vendetta. 'The entire bloody True Crime genre is now based around In Cold Blood, Truman Capote. It's based around this relentless revenge agenda, and it's very uncomfortable to me,' he says. 'The actual greatest writer on true crime… is Thomas De Quincey (Confessions of an English Opium Eater). He was in the genre of the wrongly accused. That's a more empathetic position than this kind of avenging God bullshit.'
Shot on a shoestring budget over three weeks — 'we wrote it in three weeks and filmed it three weeks later,' Sheridan says — the bulk of Re-creation unfolds in a single jury room, in homage to 12 Angry Men. The directors borrowed the claustrophobic intensity of Sidney Lumet's 1957 classic and fused it with the ambiguity of Justine Triet's Anatomy of a Fall to reflect skepticism toward both the judicial process and the media machine surrounding it.
In an exclusive clip from the film (below), the jury tries to retrace Sophie's steps, and imagine her state of mind, on the night she was murdered.
Sheridan himself plays the jury foreman. Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread) appears as the quietly forceful juror number 8, who becomes a symbolic voice for Sophie in the film. The ensemble also includes The Commitments star Colm Meaney in a silent role as Ian Bailey, Game of Thrones actor Aidan Gillen as a defense lawyer, and Irish actor and filmmaker John Connors (The Black Guelph) as one of the jurors.
Though exteriors were filmed on location in West Cork, most interiors were shot on soundstages in Dublin and in Luxembourg. The script, while foundational, was heavily improvised. 'We only had an outline,' says Sheridan. 'It was an attempt to cross the line between fiction and fact and to show that those lines have been irretrievably blurred.'
Thanks to Sheridan's dogged efforts, the murder investigation into the du Plantier case is currently the subject of a cold case review by the Garda Serious Crime Team, the Irish investigative police.
Sheridan and Merriman hope their film rekindles public interest and spurs legal action. 'We're hopeful that, at least in Ireland, that this film could start a conversation which will drive people to, you know, do the right thing,' Merriman says. 'To search for justice and find out who actually killed Sophie Toscan du Plantier, rather than just saying, 'Oh, Ian Bailey did it,' and that's good for us, because he's English, so he's a villain.'
Best of The Hollywood Reporter
13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts
Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT
'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
5 Marvel movies worth watching again before 'Ironheart' comes out next week
For anyone who knows the name Ryan Coogler, "Ironheart" on Disney Plus is a show you're going to want to watch. Debuting next week, it looks like a light-hearted origin story for the character first introduced in "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," named Riri Williams. But Executive Producer Coogler has been on a roll lately. He not only directed that 2022 film but also the well-received "Sinners," which already has Oscar buzz. Plus, he directed the original "Black Panther" as it can be hard to keep all of these Disney shows straight if you haven't watched the recent Marvel films since they came out a few years ago. To help, here's a homework assignment. These five movies will serve as a refresher for the Black Panther superhero and help prepare you for going back to Wakanda when "Ironheart" comes out June 24. Each movie is also available to watch on Disney Plus making this assignment super easy. (Note: These movies are presented in the order of which ones are worth watching first, starting with the two main "Black Panther" films, but you can watch them in any order.) The film that started it all, "Black Panther" from 2018, starred the late Chadwick Boseman as a superhero gifted with super strength and even more super technology. He wore the Vibranium Panther Suit and had claws that could rip through just about anything. The most interesting character trait with Black Panther, though, was that he was also the King of Wakanda. That means there are elements of a monarchy to the series and a deep family dynamic. It's not quite clear how Riri Williams, as Ironheart, will factor into that equation. Once you are done watching "Black Panther," the next best option is to (re)watch "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" because it introduces the Ironheart character. We first meet Riri Williams as an MIT genius experimenting with vibranium technology. The film, released in 2022, was partly an origin story for Ironheart — even if the main story arc was more about the character Shuri becoming a new iteration of Black Panther. We also first meet the villain, Namor. Released way back in 2016, but still one of the best Marvel movies to date, "Captain America: Civil War" introduced Black Panther with a compelling backstory. Chadwick Boseman's character T'Challa is introduced in Civil War as the Prince of Wakanda. His father, King T'Chaka, is part of a delegation intending to sign the Sokovia Accords to put restrictions on the Avengers. He is killed when a bomb explodes, setting the stage for T'Challa to become not only King of Wakanda but also the Black Panther to honor his late father. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Marvel knows how to build momentum for their characters — at least, that was true back in 2018. After Black Panther came out in February 2019, the superhero emerged as a key player in "Avengers: Infinity War" that April. (It's hard to remember both films were released only months apart.) Fortunately, that meant it was also easy to remember Black Panther — who ends up leading a massive battle against Thanos and his army. In case any of us need a reminder (and this is a major spoiler alert): Black Panther was part of the blip in "Infinity War." His character is restored in "Avengers: Endgame," but due to the real-life passing of Chadwick Boseman, the Black Panther mantle is passed to his on-screen sister Shuri in "Wakanda Forever. "That's a good backstory to keep in mind. "Ironheart" doesn't focus on Shuri, but we're sure there are flashbacks or references throughout the show. That's because Black Panther is a protector of sorts for Ironheart as Riri Williams learns the ropes.
Newsweek
10 hours ago
- Newsweek
Jon Bernthal Returning as Punisher in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. 🎙️ Voice is AI-generated. Inconsistencies may occur. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors According to a report from Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter, Jon Bernthal will be reprising his role as Frank Castle AKA The Punisher in the highly-anticipated Marvel Studios film "Spider-Man: Brand New Day." Jon Bernthal will return as The Punisher in 'SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY' (Source: — DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) June 20, 2025 This will mark the first time that Bernthal has been featured in a Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film. Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Netflix's "The Punisher." Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle in Netflix's "The Punisher." Netflix Previously, Bernthal has played Castle in various different live-action series like "Daredevil" and "The Punisher" on Netflix and "Daredevil: Born Again" on Disney+. Bernthal will be appearing alongside Tom Holland as the titular Spider-Man. More Entertainment: Thunderbolts* Gets New Digital Release Date – How To Watch Snydercut Subreddit Issues Statement After 'Superman' Review Bomb Controversy For more MCU and entertainment news, head on over to Newsweek Entertainment. This story is currently being updated...
Los Angeles Times
11 hours ago
- Los Angeles Times
Journalists get a guided tour of totalitarianism in ‘Meeting with Pol Pot'
French Cambodian director Rithy Panh has often cited the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge, which killed his family and from which he escaped, as the reason he's a filmmaker. His movies aren't always directly about that wretched time. But when they are — as is his most memorable achievement, the Oscar-nominated 2013 documentary 'The Missing Picture,' which re-imagined personal memories using clay-figurine dioramas — one senses a grand mosaic being assembled piece by piece linking devastation, aftermath and remembrance, never to be finished, only further detailed. His latest is the coolly observed and tense historical drama 'Meeting With Pol Pot,' which premiered last year at Cannes. It isn't autobiographical, save its fictionalization of a true story that happened concurrent to his childhood trauma: the Khmer Rouge inviting a trio of Western journalists to witness their proclaimed agrarian utopia and interview the mysterious leader referred to by his people as 'Brother No. 1.' Yet even this political junket, which took place in 1978, couldn't hide a cruel, violent truth from its guests, the unfolding of which Panh is as adept at depicting from the viewpoint of an increasingly horrified visitor as from that of a long-scarred victim. The movie stars Irène Jacob, whose intrepid French reporter Lise — a perfect role for her captivating intelligence — is modeled after the American journalist Elizabeth Becker who was on that trip, and whose later book about Cambodia and her experience, 'When the War Was Over,' inspired the screenplay credited to Panh and Pierre Erwan Guillaume. Lise is joined by an ideologically motivated Maoist professor named Alain (Grégoire Colin), quick to enthusiastically namedrop some of their hosts as former school chums in France when they were wannabe revolutionaries. (The character of Alain is based on British academic Malcolm Caldwell, an invitee alongside Becker.) Also there is eagle-eyed photojournalist Paul (Cyril Gueï), who shares Lise's healthy skepticism and a desire to learn what's really happening, especially regarding rumors of disappeared intellectuals. With sound, pacing and images, Panh readily establishes a mood of charged, contingent hospitality, a veneer that seems ready to crack: from the unsettlingly calm opening visual of this tiny French delegation waiting alone on an empty sun-hot tarmac to the strange, authoritarian formality in everything that's said and shown to them via their guide Sung (Bunhok Lim). Life is being scripted for their microphones and cameras and flanked by armed, blank-faced teenagers. The movie's square-framed cinematography, too, reminiscent of a staged newsreel, is another subtle touch — one imagines Panh rejecting widescreen as only feeding this evil regime's view of its own righteous grandiosity. Only Alain seems eager to ignore the disinformation and embrace this Potemkin village as the real deal (except when his eyes show a gathering concern). But the more Lise questions the pretense of a happily remade society, the nervier everything gets. And when Paul manages to elude his overseers and explore the surrounding area — spurring a frantic search, the menacing tenor of which raises Lise's hackles — the movie effectively becomes a prison drama, with the trio's eventual interviewee depicted as a shadowy warden who can decide their fate. Journalism has never been more under threat than right now and 'Meeting with Pol Pot' is a potent reminder of the profession's value — and inherent dangers — when it confronts and exposes facades. But this eerily elegiac film also reflects its director's soulful sensibility regarding the mass tragedy that drives his aesthetic temperament, never more so than when he re-deploys his beloved hand-crafted clay figurines for key moments of witnessed atrocity, or threads in archival footage, as if to maintain necessary intimacy between rendering and reality. Power shields its misdeeds with propaganda, but Panh sees such murderous lies clearly, giving them an honest staging, thick with echoes.
