We'll soon witness painful scenes of the IRA dealing with their traitors, with Loach getting right the horror of the occupation; British soldiers and imported mercenaries beat people to death for refusing to state their name and occupation in the language of their occupiers, or pulling out a man's fingernails one by one with a pair of rusty pliers to try to get a confession. As the IRA grow stronger, the fighting gets more and more brutal, until both sides sign a treaty to end the bloodshed. However, some (including Damien) view the treaty as a betrayal and civil war soon erupts.

After the British announce their objective to allow the creation of a “free state,” Damien, Teddy and other veterans of the struggle fight on how to react. Damien and his brother end up on opposite sides, making enemies out of men who had once fought side by side. The anguish faced by the lead characters are at times almost unbearably painful to watch.

Loach has a nice long career as a political filmmaker, yet The Wind that Shakes the Barley remains more conventional than his others. It also is a rough and edgy story in which the human drama often gets lost in the politic. Performances are excellent, and Cillian Murphy, a well-traveled Irish actor, continues to astound. While the ending should be more emotionally powerful than it is, Barley is nonetheless an action-packed, psychologically violent film that remains true to the complex trajectory of political events.