This film is rough going. Margaret Thatcher comes across as incredibly unpleasant here. I struggle to imagine anyone viewing this without understanding that large, powerful, and dishonest administrations are inherently harmful. Fassbinder’s performance is truly remarkable.

It's hard to say Michael Fassbender isn't fully committed in this harsh and disturbing film about Bobby Sands, the Irish Republican prisoner. Following Margaret Thatcher’s election in Britain, he found himself in Maze Prison in Belfast, where his opposition—not just to the UK but also to the largely Unionist views prevalent in Northern Ireland—led him and other inmates to endure terrible conditions that felt reminisc…