Hunger

Set in Northern Ireland in 1981, this drama centres on republican prisoners at the Maze prison who are determined to be recognised as political prisoners rather than ordinary criminals. Their campaign begins with the refusal to wear prison uniforms, then escalates as inmates smear their cells with excrement and endure violent reprisals from guards. Bobby Sands, a leading IRA figure among the prisoners, takes the protest to its most extreme form by refusing food, a decision that places his life in the hands of the authorities he is defying.

The film is the first feature directed by Steve McQueen, who wrote the screenplay with Enda Walsh. It stars Michael Fassbender as Bobby Sands, alongside Stuart Graham as a prison officer, Liam Cunningham as a priest, and Brian Milligan as a newly arrived inmate. Made on a modest budget across British, Irish and Northern Irish production backing, it took about three million dollars worldwide, a small return that reflects its difficult subject rather than its standing.

Audiences have rated it 7.5 out of 10 on IMDb from roughly 76,000 votes and 7.2 out of 10 on TMDB from a far smaller number of votes. A critics' rating of 8.2 out of 10 from 133 reviews places it noticeably higher with reviewers than with the wider public. McQueen went on to direct Shame, 12 Years a Slave, Widows, Occupied City and Blitz.