Dublin. The producer of a small news segment about the people, Ben(O'Suilleabhain, toying with that edge) wants to do a show on cop and self-proclaimed hardass Jerry(Meaney, determined and volatile), who is harassing small-timer Lehiff(Farrell, playing to his strength as a charming bad boy), who thinks of a bigger scheme. He will need people for it, so he approaches bus driver Mick(O'Byrne, kind but needing money for the missus, or, more appropriately, her plans for new floors, a shed, and...), whose friend John(Murphy, nice but keeps his feelings bottled up) misses his ex Deirdre(MacDonald, sweet) who, get this, has already gotten together with Sam(McElhatton, defensive) who left his wife of 14 years for her, understandably making her a bit upset.
Thus this weaves the people and story lines in with one another, often letting us spend just a little time with one situation, allowing it to be, as the film is, fairly fast-paced, effective in its establishing and developing of characters, plot and the dark, quirky and harsh comedy, and, in spite of everything being set up and paid off on, immensely surprising. Along the way, we explore the themes of relationships, job situation, money and happiness. The ingredients of life, right there! And it manages to mix in drama, and maintain its Irish roots and identity throughout. The occasional intercutting of mounting tensions in different locations is a great tool, and at no point do we lose interest or track of any of the connected tales.
There is a lot of strong language, some bloody, violent and disturbing content and a little sexuality in this. The DVD comes with interesting interviews with crew(about 4 and a half minutes) and cast(7 and a half minutes) and trailers for The United States of Leland, The Butterfly Effect, Step on It, Monster, The Passion of The Christ, Sky Captain and the world of Tomorrow, Godsend and Inkasso. I recommend this to any fan of local flavor and the superb cast. 7/10
Thus this weaves the people and story lines in with one another, often letting us spend just a little time with one situation, allowing it to be, as the film is, fairly fast-paced, effective in its establishing and developing of characters, plot and the dark, quirky and harsh comedy, and, in spite of everything being set up and paid off on, immensely surprising. Along the way, we explore the themes of relationships, job situation, money and happiness. The ingredients of life, right there! And it manages to mix in drama, and maintain its Irish roots and identity throughout. The occasional intercutting of mounting tensions in different locations is a great tool, and at no point do we lose interest or track of any of the connected tales.
There is a lot of strong language, some bloody, violent and disturbing content and a little sexuality in this. The DVD comes with interesting interviews with crew(about 4 and a half minutes) and cast(7 and a half minutes) and trailers for The United States of Leland, The Butterfly Effect, Step on It, Monster, The Passion of The Christ, Sky Captain and the world of Tomorrow, Godsend and Inkasso. I recommend this to any fan of local flavor and the superb cast. 7/10