Ramon- Patriot Games

In Tom Massaro’s book “ Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action”, he indicates the nine key themes in Catholic Social Thought (CST). His claim is the importance of “family life.” In CST, family life is the central unit of society. The conditioning of persons is created and strengthened due to the family. Therefore, the future actions and world stability comes about due to the values bestowed upon offspring and values made clear to parental units by the actions of their offspring.

So, I would like to talk about Sean Miller’s relationship with his two families. The film is very much based on the hunter rather than the hunted. And in some respects, this film is more about Miller than about Jack Ryan. In Patriot Games, director Phillip Noyce puts a large emphasis on the importance of families, whether they are blood related or organizational. The difference between organizational families and blood families is a grey area in this film due to the actions of Sean Miller. Miller’s values come from his blood family and his organizational Family, the IRA. However, Miller breaks the barrier by killing off members of his organizational family in order to avenge the death of his younger brother (whom Jack Ryan killed during the failed assassination of the Royal Family). This leads into another point of Sean Miller’s ideals/Noyce’s debated message. Sean Miller made an attempt to assassinate the Royal Family, the symbol for the nation’s values, and he paid no regard to the lives of his IRA family when chasing after Jack Ryan. It seems to be that Sean Miller has some sort of edge against organizational families because they get in the way of what makes “him” which is the attachment to his blood family. My claim made about Noyce’s message, mediated through families in the plot, is such. Noyce believes that organizational families are detrimental to the individual’s values and bad for the blood family. From Jack Ryan’s relationship with the CIA to Sean Miller’s destruction of his organizational family, organizational families destroy the central unity of society. 

There are many different families present in Patriot Games. Each family plays a very important role in the plot and helps to drive the plot. The most notable families are the Ryan's, the IRA, the CIA, the miller's, and the royal family. The Ryan's and the IRA drive the plot the most of these families.

A faction of the IRA is initially responsible for the attack on the royal family that Jack Ryan thwarts. Wile he is defending the motorcade, Ryan shoots and kills one of the attacker's who also happens to be the brother of the other IRA member. Although the IRA is split over whether the attack was a good idea, they do not want Sean Miller to revenge his brother. Miller however is determined t do so and with the help of his fellow IRA members, escapes prison and is able to track down Ryan and his family in the US. Miller would not have been able to spring from prison and track down the Ryan's. His quest to revenge his brother and kill those that get in his way is dependent on the participation of his IRA family.

Jack Ryan on the other hand does not wish to act out on behalf of his family, he only tries to protect and do what is best for them. Initially, he even avoids returning to the CIA because he realizes he should be close to his wife and daughter. When he does return to the CIA, it is because his family was attacked and he wants to do everything he can to protect them. His decisions are always with their good in mind.

Families play an important role in Patriot Games. Whether nuclear or organizational, there are many families that drive the plot of the movie. They are the driving force in much of the plot and cause many of the problems that occur.

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.

Butcher - Families in Patriot Games

There are several families, both nuclear and organizational, that are present in Patriot Games. One could argue that families are, in fact, the central theme that the whole movie revolves around. The action that takes place is all action that threatens the family. Some of the “families” represented in the film are: the Ryan family, Miller’s family, the Royal family, the IRA, the CIA, and the Naval Academy.

The IRA is an interesting family to observe in this film. On the one hand, we see the Irish as incredibly loyal to each other. The spokesman for the IRA refuses to give Jack Ryan any information on his fellow Irishmen, claiming that he would never betray his people. This is a very important point that reverberates throughout the film. Because of the conflict between the British and the Irish, many Irish were seen as betraying their people for pledging allegiance to the crown, in some way or another. When Jack Ryan approaches the IRA spokesman in the Irish bar, he scoffs Ryan in his attempt, announcing this publicly to the rest of the bar patrons.

On the other hand, the splinter groups of the IRA will kill their own if that means that they will become closer to achieving their ends. Any man, Irish or not, that threats their goals will be taken down. We see this when Miller’s sect of the IRA kills off “Jimmy boy.” Their sect focuses on violent actions that send a message. Toward the end of the film, it is clear that Sean’s motives are different from the group, and when they intervene with him, Sean will kill them.

Sean Miller’s family, consisting of his brother and himself, is broken when Jack interferes and accidentally shoots his brother. This is the inciting incident that sets Patriot Games into motion. From that point forward, Sean’s motivation to seek revenge for his brother death pushes the plot forward. Act II of the film begins when Sean threatens the lives of Jack Ryan’s wife and daughter, chasing them on the highway till their car crashes. Miller continues to pursue the Ryan family till the very end of the film, which ends in a daring boat chase between Jack and Sean.

Jack Ryan is extremely protective of his family. After his pregnant wife and daughter careen into a highway divider, Ryan does everything in his power to bring justice to the situation. Always a man of action, Ryan becomes completely involved in the case when he re-joins the CIA, hoping to contribute to their search for Miller and the rest of his IRA group. Even his wife, Dr. Ryan, who had resented his former place in the CIA, supports him in his efforts to hunt Miller down. At the end of the film, Jack puts his own life on the line to ensure the safety of his family, and the Royal family.

It seems as though familial relationships are central to the plot of Patriot Games, and these relationships function within the device of political tension. The violence that Miller's IRA splinter group inflicts affects all the characters within the film. People find the need to create close ties with one another, and when the lives of family members are threatened, tension is created. This tension is what engages the audience and makes them anxious. We start to imagine what we would do if our family and friends were in danger. Harrison Ford, acts as the hero that we would all wish to be if encountered with this situation.