This Irish film definitely comes from the “I’ve been influenced by PULP FICTION” land of filmmaking. But that’s not so bad, because the story and characters are original and interesting and the film is full of surprises.
The story follows several characters and shows how their lives cross each other. Right from the get-go the film has a twisted surprise in introducing Lehiff (Colin Farrell, PHONE BOOTH), a gruff street thug who has a thing for kitchen appliances. John (Cillian Murphy, 28 DAYS LATER) works at a Mega Mart and has just been dumped by his girlfriend Deirdre (Kelly Macdonald, TWO FAMILY HOUSE), who has taken up with a married bank manager Sam (Michael McElhatton, BLOW DRY), whose abandoned wife, Noeleen (Deirdre O'Kane, WITH OR WITHOUT YOU), goes to a lonely-hearts dance and meets John’s best mate Oscar (David Wilmot, THE GENERAL).
But wait there’s more. Jerry Lynch (Colm Meaney, CON AIR) is a tough-as-nails cop, who wants to star in his own COPS-like series, which he forces TV producer Ben (Tomas O'Suilleabhain, ON THE EDGE) to produce. Sally (Shirley Henderson, TOPSY TURVY) is trying to get over her crappy ex-boyfriend and has let herself go a bit, especially in the upper lip area. Maura (Ger Ryan, THE VAN) is Sally and Deirdre’s widowed mother, who only wants her girls to find love. Mick (Brian F. O’Byrne, BANDITS) is a disgruntled bus driver, who's friends with John and Oscar.
The dialogue is quirky and witty. The plot twists and turns throughout. The film may start out average, but as it goes along and you’re drawn in by the characters and how they intersect with each other. The film is darkly funny and developed character tics into a greater representation of the character’s feelings. Noeleen’s sex fetish is a perfect example of this idea. I’ll have to say that I could have done without the pseudo-doc style camerawork, which is way overused these days, but you forget about it once the characters and story draw you in. In the end, this is a fascinating flick that was a whole lot of fun.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
