Mantica - Patriot Games

Patriot Games (dir: Phillip Noyce, 1992) isn’t really the kind of movie it appears to be. Although on its surface the film appears to be a Tom Clancy-branded espionage thriller, the fundamental themes in the film are the foundations of our society, which begin in the family. And while it may seem that the only real family in the film is that of Jack Ryan’s (Harrison Ford), there are many others that are not exactly the typical nuclear family. Such families exist in organizations such as the CIA and even the villains in the IRA. The people in these organizations might not be related by blood, but they still treat care for one another as if they were related. These bonds are what motivates and drives the characters in Patriot Games, which ultimately creates the plot points that drive the story.

At the beginning of the film Sean (Sean Bean) and Patrick Miller, two brothers and members of the IRA, attempt to assassinate a member of the Royal Family. In what becomes the inciting incident of the film, Jack Ryan shoots and kills Patrick Miller as he tries to defend Lord Holmes. Infuriated, Sean Miller vows to avenge his brother by killing Ryan’s wife and daughter. His desire for revenge becomes the most important plot point and Miller becomes the main villain in the film. However, the Miller family bond isn’t the only element of family present in these characters. The IRA itself helps Miller escape police custody, and later help Miller attempt to kill Ryan’s wife and daughter in the film’s mid-act climax from Act 2. The IRA understands Miller’s hatred for Ryan and stand by him in this is risky (and pointless) mission. Like family they stick together. Ryan’s family does survive and becomes the nuclear family in the film. Because this family is the foundation of society, a threat to this family becomes a threat to all society. The CIA, the Royal family and Robby Jackson’s (Samuel L. Jackson) family all come together to support the Ryan family in their own ways. And in the end, all families are together when the final confrontation between Ryan and Miller occurs.

Clearly, Patriot Games is a character-driven film. The characters and their ties to their own families (nuclear and organizational) become the motivations for these characters that ultimately drive the story forward and lead to the main developments in the film.