IT’S A MEASURE of the notoriety that the word ‘Saipan’ has in Irish culture and sport that the new film about the whole thing could hardly have been called anything else.

For an international audience, there’s probably a strong argument that naming it after anything other than the remote pacific island would have been better.

But in Ireland, there are few single words that are quite so evocative of a time or incident as Saipan.

The mere mention of it has become a byword for division, and it has a life of its own long past the fiery bust up between Roy Keane and Mick McCarthy almost 24 years ago.

The new film about it all is released next week, and it will either open old wounds or cause a shrug among those who feel it has been done to death.

This is after all an incident that previously spawned a stage musical, I, Keano, in peak Celtic Tiger Ireland only a couple of years after it happened.

But to dismiss the new movie would be a mistake, because it stands as an incredibly enjoyable 91 minutes of tension, fine acting, noughties nostalgia and various if-onlys. 

For an incident that has been scrutinised in various autobiographies and countless retrospectives, the film certainly takes some liberties with the facts and that will provoke debate. But as a piece of entertainment, there is a lot to like here.

Chief among them is the performance of Éanna Hardwicke as Roy Keane, who captures the player’s menacing stare and famous wit in a way that is just very good cinema.

A Keane one-liner on a Saipan beach with squad newcomer Steven Reid had the screening The Journal attended laughing loudly.

Keane has been caricatured by many people over the years, and indeed plays up to a caricature of himself in an extremely successful media career in the UK.

But Hardwicke does well to evoke the 2002-era of Keane when he was simultaneously one of the best footballers on the planet and someone who you’d feel on eggshells while in his presence.

Hardwicke achieves this while Keane spends a lot of time alone in his Saipan hotel room, but also in the climactic argument with McCarthy that is both explosive and engrossing.

Unlike the portrayal of Keane, Steve Coogan as McCarthy probably dials down the wit of a man who is also known for a quip.

To an extent, McCarthy is played more deferential to Keane than this reporter’s memory of the Ireland manager of the time. While it is referenced that McCarthy was a former Ireland captain, it feels like the film downplays his stature a tad. Both literally and figuratively.

The film mentions that McCarthy committed the most fouls of anyone at the 1990 World Cup but doesn’t get across that at over six-foot-tall he would have towered above Keane in their tense encounters.

Coogan does a very good job in being the foil for Hardwicke though, as this is to be honest a very Keane-focused film.

Indeed, if you wanted to know which side the film is more favourable to in the great Saipan debate, the answer is certainly the former Manchester United captain.

While other players from the time have named parts in the film, there is no FAI character portraying any of the real-life blazers.

That the suits remain nameless is perhaps no surprise, as the FAI characters in the film are turned up to 11 in their ineptitude and are at one point drinking wine at the side of the infamous training pitch/car park.

There is just the right amount of real-world archive footage in the film, with Tony O’Donoghue and Tommie Gorman rightfully getting their place on screen.

The voice of Gerry Ryan is featured a couple of times, and this itself feels nostalgic.

One of the radio clips of Ryan describes just how big the story this was back home and even shows Bertie Ahern, days after a general election win, being asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Again, this is really good stuff for Irish audiences and one gets the sense that Saipan will be a mainstay of Christmas TV schedules in years to come.

As mentioned, some licence is taken with the facts of the events. These are probably best explored elsewhere, but one worth mentioning is in how the infamous Irish Times interview that led to the bust up came about.

Aoife Hinds plays a reporter travelling with the Irish press pack and, although she is not based on a specific person, she functions as a kind of a composite journalist to fulfil the media’s role in the whole thing.

Without risking spoilers, her interactions with the Keane character are probably more sympathetic to the Team Keane view of the whole thing, and might annoy those who take the opposite side.

Steve Coogan as Mick McCarthy Instagram Instagram

Quibbling over facts probably misses the point a bit though. As the disclaimer at the beginning of the film points out, it’s based on the true story rather than seeking to be a factual account of what happened.

There is genuine disappointment too. The Irish team that went to the World Cup in 2002 was a team of real talent, several of whom were young and went on to have football careers that would be the envy of any player lining out for Ireland today.

The film underplays some of that talent, focusing instead on the gravitational force that is Keane, but when it shows real footage of Shay Given standing deflated after defeat to Spain in that penalty shootout, Irish fans will feel a longing all over again. 

Favourite by Fontaines DC plays out during this denouement and the hope in that song was just about perfect. In the post-Troy Parrott miracle days it now feels even better, and there’s little doubt the country’s early-stage World Cup fever is likely to give the film an extra boost. 

So if you’re ready to get hurt and relive Irish football’s biggest Roman Tragedy one more time, it’s probably worth it.

Saipan is released in the Republic of Ireland on 1 January, with preview screenings starting in some cinemas from this weekend. 

Written by Rónán Duffy and posted on TheJournal.ie