Butcher - The Devil's Own

When Frankie McGuire arrives in the U.S. he is sent to the O’Meara household. The Irish-American family immediately welcome Frankie in, and he soon becomes just like a member of their own. Tom especially takes to him, jovial at the thought of another male companion in the house of four women. Frankie, known to the O’Mearas as ‘Rory,’ is the son that Tom always wished to have. At his arrival, he meant to simply use the O’Mearas as a safe house, but by the end of The Devil’s Own, Rory develops a strong bond with his host family. As his situation with Burke complicates, he comes to the defense of the O’Mearas.

One afternoon, Tom and Sheila discover intruders in their home, all masked men looking for Rory’s stash of money. While they struggle to fight off the intruders, Rory intervenes to help the O’Mearas. Knowing that Burke was responsible, Rory takes action to make Burke pay for harming his surrogate family. Armed with a gun, Rory pays a visit to Burke to send a warning. Rory exhibits his love for his new American family in his persistence to protect them from further harm. It is pertinent for him to confront the party responsible in the only way he knows how: through violence. From the beginning of his life, violence was prevalent in Ireland. Fatherless at a young age, gunfights and struggle against those stifling the IRA became the norm.

“It’s not an American story; It’s an Irish one,” reiterates Rory to Tom. Rory’s initial plans to acquire weapons in the U.S. bring together these two Irishmen. One is a proud Irish-American cop, and the other, a true Irishman fighting with the IRA. Connected by heritage these men form a bond with each other like that of a father and son.

O'Meara Family

The O'Meara family plays an important role in the development of the plot in The Devil's Own. One scene in particular that displays this importance is during the confirmation party. Every family friend is in attendance and in a way, becomes a part of the O'Meara family. Tom specifically includes Rory in the celebration though and in this scene, Rory becomes a part of the O'Meara family. Rory also pays special attention to the youngest daughter and takes on a role as part of the family. This scene sets up that both Tom and Rory have a bond and an obligation to one another. Tom included Rory in the photo with his parter to show this bond and obligation as Rory is put on the same level as Tom's partner. The confirmation party is an essential scene to the plot because it solidifies Rory's place in the O'Meara family.

Koeferl- Devil's Own

Frankie/Rory's father was killed when he was only a boy, and thus he grew up with an incomplete family. When he arrived in America and met Tom O'Meara, he began to be part of the O'Meara family. Tom served as a kind of father figure for Rory, and Rory became the son that Tom never had. The pool game (Irish v. Italians) was a bonding experience between the two. Rory fit right into the family; the daughters all liked him, and he was just as much of Tom's family as his partner Eddie was at the confirmation party. It's very important that Rory was housed with this large, functional family. It represents what Frankie's life could have been like if his father hadn't been murdered. If this movie was an "American story", Frankie might have given up his life of violence and live with the O'Meara family as a normal house guest. Since it's an "Irish story", it has no happy ending, so it had to finish with Frankie's death, because he was not going to be incarcerated willingly. Family was very important to Tom O'Meara; he treated Rory as a son, so the realization that he was actually Frankie McGuire was a tough blow. His trust was betrayed, and he knew he had to try and arrest the same person that he recently housed as an honorary member of his family. The movie had a tragic ending because Tom was unwilling to slack off on his job and let Frankie go free, and Frankie was stubborn and wanted to go back to Belfast, even if it wasn't safe for him there. It was very symbolic when Tom clasped hands with Rory as he died; even though he had to stop Rory from leaving, he still respected him as a person and cared for him. Both men liked each other and shared a bond, but their characters (the cop and the criminal) had to be opposed by the nature of their roles.

Hutchinson - The Devil's Own

At the very beginning of The Devil’s Own, we see how important family is to Frankie McGuire, as he sets out to sea with his fisherman father in the opening scene. Unfortunately, in the very next scene, we see that family bond ripped from Frankie, as his father is gunned down right in front of him at the dinner table. Suddenly, Frankie’s whole world comes crashing down around him, and his Irish pride and desire for revenge flares deep within him. Cut to twenty years later, an older Frankie is now a hero of the IRA, shooting people, bombing people, and destroying families left and right – even members of his own team are dying for the cause. It isn’t until Frankie arrives in America that we see any real sense of human value and life bubble within him. By living with Tom O’Meara and his family, some of Frankie – or rather “Rory’s” – walls have come down. He has allowed himself to be taken in by Tom’s family, physically and emotionally. He attends Tom’s daughter’s confirmation, as a member of the family. At the after party, he is treated as just that, a member of the family. When Tom is asked to take a picture with Eddie, Tom grabs “Rory” and pulls him in, including him and solidifying his place in the family. Rory at first appears baffled, but quickly smiles and poses for the picture, enjoying himself. For the rest of the scene, Rory dances with the daughters and actively participates in the normal family function. He is no longer the cold, detached killer leading a secret gun-running mission – he is an accepted, fun, loving and beloved member of the O’Meara family. Finally, since the death of his father, Frankie McGuire has opened up and found a family. He is part of a common family occurrence. He has purpose, something worth fighting for, aside from his Irish Pride. The O'Meara family remind him of why he started fighting in the first place.

Hutchinson-Patriot Games

The idea of “family” drives the plot of Patriot Games, and presents itself in many forms: Jack Ryan’s family, which is threatened by Sean Miller; Sean Miller’s brother, who was shot by Jack Ryan; the relatives of the Royal Family, who Sean Miller tried to assassinate; and the IRA, whose members may not be blood related, but no less have a bond so strong as to be called family. There are three families that are the main focus of the movie: the Ryans, the brothers Miller, and the IRA. The Miller family is abruptly cut from two to one when Jack Ryan shoots Sean’s brother, Patty. It is this incident which causes Sean miller to go on a quest for revenge against Jack Ryan. Because Ryan took Miller’s family, Miller decides that the only fair thing to do would be to return the favor, and take Ryan’s family and send them to their final resting place. Miller’s goal really persists throughout the whole movie and forces it along – it is the main plot, overshadowing the political implications of the IRA. Because of Miller’s threat, Ryan is forced to reunite with his old, non-nuclear family, the CIA, in order to ensure the safety of his wife and daughter. All of the families of the movie are inter-connected, like the six degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon thing. This connection causes a domino effect which ends up affecting more than just Jack Ryan and his family. The thing about family is, you mess with one, you mess with them all.

It is not wise to ignore the underlying cause for the chain of events that takes place in the movie: the extremist sect of the IRA, of which Sean Miller is a key player, has set all of this in motion by trying to attack the Lord and his family. The political problems between England and Ireland have forced the IRA to exist. Along the way, the IRA became too political, causing a split in the group into peaceful diplomats and radical extremists. The extremists attacked the royals, right in front of Jack Ryan’s family. This made him spring into action. Patty Miller shot at Jack, who then shot back, killing him. This death sparked an even deeper rage in Sean Miller, causing him to go on a vendetta for his brother. Familial ties are strong, and they cause people to do crazy, irrational things, just to ensure the safety of the family.

Morris- Patriot Games

In Patriot Games, I can count at least six different families. Family is an important part of this movie because it is the driving force behind why people take the actions that they take. When their families are threatened, people in this movie will stop at nothing to make sure their family is safe or avenged.

One family is the Millers. The entire movie is based around Sean Miller's quest for vengeance against Jack Ryan for killing his brother. Sean even turns his back on his family of the IRA faction to exact his revenge in the end. It is because Miller cannot let go of his anger that Jack Ryan is forced to continue protecting his family throughout the movie.

The inciting incident occurs in London when Jack Ryan kills Miller's brother. The reason this happens is because Ryan's family is threatened by the IRA faction's placement of the car bombs. Ryan attacks the Millers to stop the bombs from going off to protect his family. Then, his family is attacked directly because of this action, causing him to attack the IRA faction again by re-joining the CIA and attacking their base camp in North Africa.

These families going back and forth in their threats is one example of family creating plot points within this movie.

Roberts-Patriot Games

Family is a huge theme within the movie Patriot Games. There are several different types of families within the movie, some conventional while others not so much. First there is Jack Ryan's family which is a standard nuclear family and in the same vein there is Lt. Robby Jackson's (Samuel L Jackson) family. Then there are a series of several other organizational families. The first is the offshoot of the IRA who are considered a family although they turn very quickly if they suspect betrayal. The CIA, which could be considered Jack Ryan's second family, is another one and much like the IRA it is extremely exclusive but does not turn to violence like the IRA does.

Two families in the film are crucial in creating plot points and driving the plot along. These two families are Jack Ryan's family as well as the terrorist-like IRA group. At the beginning of the film Jack Ryan protects his family and ends up killing Sean Miller's, part of the IRA, younger brother. Miller is understandably angry as family, especially blood relatives, are very important and makes an effort to get revenge by somehow hurting Ryan's wife and daughter. Miller's true act of revenge happens at the mid act climax where he causes Ryan's wife and daughter to get into a potential life threatening car crash. They are not killed but the safety of Ryan's family has once again been threatened. The theme of the threatened family appears again and again throughout the film and not just between Ryan and the IRA. Protection of the family is extremely important for all groups involved and acts as a device to move the plot along.

Torres - Patriot Games

Families play an important role in the movie Patriot Games (1992), as family loyalty and the fear of losing family are main themes. There are several families within the movie; some are traditional families including blood relatives only, others are non-traditional families that include friends who are integrated into the family although they have no blood ties, and some are organizational families that are composed of coworkers or a group of people fighting for the same cause. Examples of traditional families include the Ryan family (Jack, Caroline, Sally), the Miller family (Sean and his brother), the Holmes family (Lord William, his wife and son and, on a broader scale, the rest of the Royal Family), and the Jackson family (Lt. Cmdr. Robby and his wife). The Holmes family also includes a non-traditional member in the form of Lord William's private secretary, who is trusted and treated like family, thus making his betrayal more meaningful. Examples of organizational families that appear in the film include the CIA, the IRA, the IRA subgroup, and the Naval Academy.These families are paramount in the plot development of the film. The Ryan family and the Miller family, especially Sean Miller, is responsible for several plot points that push the story forward. In the inciting incident of the film, the IRA subgroup's terrorist plot is foiled when Jack Ryan steps in and kills Sean's brother. If it weren't for this interaction, none of the events that followed would have taken place. In plot point one, Sean Miller escapes from police custody with the intent to seek revenge on Ryan for his brother's death. The IRA subgroup is an important part of this plot point because their sense of loyalty to the family that is their subgroup is what brought them to rescue Sean. The mid-act climax is when things begin to get complicated. Because of their relationship to Sean, the IRA subgroup assists Sean in his revenge attempt on Ryan's family, successfully injuring his wife and daughter. However, after he learns that the wife and daughter are still alive a conflict of interest begins to develop between Sean and the rest of the group. Sean's true loyalties lie with avenging his brother (blood relative) and not with his fellow IRA subgroup members. At plot piont two, the Ryans have a welcome home party for their daughter that Lord William is invited to, thus enticing the IRA subgroup to make another attempt at his life. There is a lot of family interactions and developments in Act 3. We discover that the royal secretary is the traitor who is the IRA subgroup's informant, that betraying the royal family. We also see that when Sean is forced to choose between remaining loyal to the IRA subgroup and remaining loyal to his brother, he chose his brother and killed the members of the IRA subgroup in order to pursue Jack. These series of interactions, disturbances, and threats against the family structure are the main theme of the film, designed to inspire terror at the thought of one's family being in jeopardy.