The Devil's Own is a 1997 American action thriller film directed by Alan J. Pakula, starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt, with Rubén Blades, Natascha McElhone, Julia Stiles, Margaret Colin, Treat Williams, and George Hearn in supporting roles.

Twenty years later in Belfast, Frankie and three fellow IRA members are ambushed by the British Army and Special Reconnaissance Unit agents.

Pursued by a British Army helicopter, Frankie's commander Martin MacDuff decides that the IRA needs Stinger missiles to fight back.

American Judge Peter Fitzsimmons, a longtime IRA supporter, arranges for him to stay with Irish-American NYPD Sergeant Tom O'Meara, his wife Sheila, and their three daughters on Staten Island.

Frankie cuts a deal with black market arms dealer and Irish mobster Billy Burke to receive the missiles in several weeks time.

After lying to protect his partner, Eddie Diaz, for fatally shooting an unarmed thief in the back, a guilt-stricken Tom decides to retire from the force.

Frankie arrives and he and Tom fight off the intruders as Sheila calls the police, but they are held at gunpoint until sirens approach and the assailants flee.

With Eddie dead, Tom is questioned by the FBI and their British counterparts and realizes that they intend to kill Frankie, who meets Burke at an abandoned warehouse.

The project began moving forward towards pre-production at Universal Pictures[10] but was left at a standstill due to Pitt's lack of acting credits at the time, as well as the politically controversial subject matter on which the story was based.

[10] Pitt visited Belfast in preparation for the role and suffered bruises after he was attacked on the city's Falls Road after being mistaken for a Protestant.

[6] Principal photography started in February 1996, with the script "still in flux"; according to The New York Times, "ego clashes, budget overruns and long delays plagued the project.

"[14][18][1][2][19] Pitt "threatened to quit early in the shoot, complaining that the script was incomplete and incoherent" and later "denounced the movie as 'the most irresponsible bit of film making – if you can even call it that – that I've ever seen.

George's primary purpose was to concentrate on helping further develop Pitt's character, and what the actor thought was a superficial outlook on the IRA situation.

[24][25] According to Pakula, one problem was that the film's plot did not fall along conventionally simple Hollywood lines, as Ford and Pitt were both playing "good guys" according to each of their own distinct moral codes.

[29] Roger Ebert gave the film 2½ stars out of 4, saying it showed "ignorance of the history of Northern Ireland" and that "the issues involved between the two sides are never mentioned."

Pitt and Ford were praised, with Ebert complimenting the pair, describing them as "enormously appealing and gifted actors, and to the degree that the movie works, it's because of them.

There's also an effective subplot that forces Tom to examine his moral outlook on life when his partner (Ruben Blades) accidentally shoots a fleeing suspect in the back.

[31]Janet Maslin called it an "unexpectedly solid thriller" with a "first-rate, madly photogenic performance" by Pitt; she notes that it is "directed by Alan J. Pakula in a thoughtful urban style that recalls the vintage New York stories of Sidney Lumet" and "handsomely photographed by Gordon Willis".

[32] Richard Schickel called it "quite a good movie – a character-driven (as opposed to whammy-driven) suspense drama – dark, fatalistic and, within its melodramatically stretched terms, emotionally plausible"; he said Pakula "develops his story patiently, without letting its tensions unravel.

"[33] Entertainment Weekly gave it a "B+," calling it a "quiet, absorbing, shades-of-gray drama, a kind of thriller meditation on the schism in Northern Ireland.

"[35] Variety said: Whatever contortions the script went through on its way to the result, Pakula has managed to maintain an admirable concentration on the central moral equation, which posits the Irish terrorist's understandable political and emotional motivations for revenge versus the decent cop's sense of justice and the greater human good.

The movie was restricted to movie-goers aged 15 or older, and the Princess persuaded the cinema to let Prince Harry stay despite him being three years underage.