When the Sky Falls

Based on the true story of a muckraking Irish journalist who was killed for her efforts to expose organized crime in Dublin, Joan Allen tries mightily to fashion a credible performance as Sinead Hamilton, a fictionalized version of the real Veronica Guerin. But the hapless Allen has a terribly lackluster, clichéd, and implausible script to work with--one that makes the heroics in Erin Brockovich seem like documentary realism by comparison. Director John Mackenzie, who had a much better feel for the underworld in the near-classic The Long Good Friday, really founders with this straight-to-cable outing. Not recommended. (T. Rich)