IRISH REVIEW: Intermission (2003)

Though it would obviously be foolish to claim that Intermission owes more of a debt to something like Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia than to films like Pulp Fiction and Snatch, Intermission is nonetheless much more a film about people than it is a self-consciously stylish showcase for violence and other things that its director finds cool. Director John Crowley and writer Mark O’Rawe (the not as successful Perrier’s Bounty) feature a variety of interlinking characters and plotlines but they never forget that the film is ultimately just about people trying to get by in life and love.

Small-time thief John (Cillian Murphy) decides to test the sincerity of his girlfriend Deirdre’s (Kelly MacDonald) feelings for him by breaking up with her. This all backfires when she is left broken-hearted and shortly afterwards takes up with a married man Sam (Michael McElhatton), who leaves his wife Noeleen (Deirdre O’Kane) devastated. Noeleen is encouraged to go out and try to find another man. Meanwhile, John’s love-starved best friend Oscar (David Wilmot) becomes increasingly depressed and his other friend Mick (Brían F. O’Byrne) is left unemployed when a small boy (Taylor Molloy) throws a rock through the front windshield of his bus, resulting in a remarkable crash involving Deirdre’s mother Maura (Ger Ryan) and sister Sally (Shirley Henderson), which sparks the interest of a documentary crew led begrudgingly by Anthony (Rory Keenan) who would much rather be filming the tough life on the streets of policeman Gerry Lynch (Colm Meaney) Gerry has it in for local hood Lehiff (Colin Farrell), who may have a proposition for John and Mick.

Intermission is a reasonably convoluted film but it doesn’t let itself get too bogged down in exposition. It is primarily the story of John and Deirdre with additions from a supporting cast, who have their own problems, some not as interesting as others but there is a general feeling of a close-knit community in an optimistic post-Tiger Dublin. If it isn’t the most taut plotting, it is forgivable since life is never simple and because the film romps along at a nice pace and a likable and easy-going tone. Cillian Murphy and Kelly MacDonald do well, but their parts are somewhat underwritten to make room for all the other characters, many of whom are very good. David Wilmot has a larger role here than many of his more recent roles and proves to be a very likable presence, as does Brían F. O’Byrne, Michael McElhatton and Deirdre O’Kane. Colm Meaney plays his typical role, the hard man who doesn’t realize how funny he is to other people, but he does it well here thanks mainly to a good script – something clearly missing when he took on similar roles in Whole Lotta Sole and A Belfast Story. Colin Farrell gets a great opening (with excellent use of ‘Out of Control’ by U2 – so exciting for an Irish film at the time and now, in retrospect, so optimistic) but he is surprisingly kept largely to the background until towards the end of the film.

What is so likable about Intermission though is the fact that it avoids the cool style and ‘funny’ violence that was so in vogue at the time that the film was made, preferring a light tone and a hand-held feel, making it a film about people, not trendy pop culture references, crime and violence. It is, more than anything else, a comedy and a rather funny one at that, though it is one that doesn’t avoid the more harrowing and gritty side of life on the streets of Dublin – the mean streets, as Meaney’s Lynch prefers to call them, though only to heighten his own hard-as-nails image.

As the film plays out, it becomes unclear what exactly the unifying theme behind the whole thing is, but by then, it also ceases to matter. It ends up being a small and really rather charming film – not wholly successful but certainly good enough – a pleasant surprise given the poster that was very suggestive of Trainspotting and Snatch. In the end, its primary value is that it is entertaining, full of good performances from a whole pile of recognisable faces (I didn’t even mention Tom Murphy, Conleth Hill, Laurence Kinlan and Ruth McCabe). It is mostly light, fairly unexpected and quite a bit of fun. And with a major stunt that was said to be the most expensive thing in Irish cinema at the time.

REVIEW: Perrier's Bounty (2009)

  This film comes with a lot of pedigree. Presumably coming off the back of the success of 2008 masterpiece ‘In Bruges’, with the director of ‘A Film With Me In It’ and the writer of ‘Intermission’ and starring Brendan Gleeson, Jim Broadbent, Cillian Murphy and Liam Cunningham, how could it be bad? Well…it isn’t. OK, it isn’t going to give the Irish film industry the kick up the backside that it needs, but it is a very funny 88 minutes and entertaining to beat the band.

  You are alerted to the film’s tone from the off, with a bouncy and colourful opening credit sequences and an introduction by a fun, cynical and annoyingly recognisable narrator. The story is that of a fairly conventional comedy thriller with a heavy dose of seedy locations and even seedier characters. Cillian Murphy’s Michael owes local gangster Perrier (the ever dependable Gleeson) money and has no way of getting it. Things get worse and worse until Michael is forced into hiding, taking suicidal neighbour Brenda (Jodie Whittaker of Venus fame) and dying estranged father (Broadbent) along with him. Perrier puts a bounty on their heads and the hunt is on. It may sound like something you’ve seen before, but the film’s humour raises it to a much higher level, allowing for some brilliantly unexpected little scenes, such as when Gleeson consoles a grieving henchman and when two wheel-clampers get in over their heads.

  The fun script is full of seedy characters spouting philosophical nonsense and tracts about non-existent codes of honour and even the Grim Reaper has a part to play. The characters are all very likable in the vein of Intermission’s multiple characters. Not one of them is innocent but fun performances and good scripting allow you to forget that. What’s great about the film is that it never gets too serious in an effort to be more than just a punchy comedy chase movie. Alongside the laughs, thrills and plentiful spills the film is a pseudo-profound mediation on something or other, which gives it a very enjoyable tongue in cheek feel but isn’t tackled seriously. Art this is not, and the film knows it. As the all-knowing narrator says, “Anyway…bit of craic, no?”

REVIEW: Inception (2010)

  Inception comes with a lot of hype. With enigmatic trailers, huge posters and the fact that it is the new film by Christopher Nolan, it’s making sure that everyone will notice it. Now, it’s easy to be prejudiced against a film as hyped up as Inception. Avatar and Paranormal Activity were duds, while the great Kick-Ass went by almost unnoticed. However, Inception is one of those rare films that, while not living up to expectations (whatever they were as the trailers were so devoid of clues), it surprises in other, completely unexpected ways.

  Without getting too bogged down in the plot, Inception is presumably set in the near future where corporate espionage has moved on to “extraction”, a means of entering the dreams of your rival and stealing their ideas. Leonardo DiCaprio plays the extractor and he’s the best there is. He becomes embroiled in the seemingly impossible idea of ‘inception’, an attempt to plant the seed of an idea in the mind of a business rival, effectively brainwashing them. Mind, there is much more to the film than this comparatively simple synopsis would suggest.

  The first forty minutes of the film are hard to fully grasp and suspicions are that this is intentional. From the first scene, Nolan is giving you a warning, “Get ready to think”. Eventually it will all become remarkably coherent, as long as you pay attention and keep up. Those seeing the film solely for the visceral action of set pieces (of which there are many) held together by a threadbare story, which seems to be the way of most recent action movies, will suffer. But therein lies the beauty of Inception.

  Having to think during a $160 million action movie is a rarity, and for that simple reason Inception is unique. Who, after ten minutes, didn’t know where Avatar was going? And who really felt moved to discuss it at length afterwards? Inception is full of ideas and is a genuinely creative film. Cherish it. There will not be many films like this in the multiplexes unless, of course, Hollywood takes Nolan’s lead and start making films that are actually about something again.

  However, Inception is not without its flaws. Primarily a visual film and a film about ideas: the question of the difference between the dream state and reality and how to tell them apart is intriguingly tackled. As a result, it is not an actor’s film. As good as the cast may be, they are not characters. As the posters show, they are merely roles (The Extractor, The Architect, The Mark) to which each actor is assigned. People who don’t like it say that they didn’t bother trying to keep up with the intricate plot because they didn’t care about the characters. While these arguments are just, it should be remembered that it’s a film about a concept and, in some ways, post-human. On top of this, the film is 148 minutes long. Adding character development, with a little exploration into the morality of extraction and a bit of humour thrown in, it wouldn’t be a film. It would be a mini-series. Another thing to bear in mind is that while Inception is an original film, it does owe a certain number of its ideas to David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ. In some ways, what Heat is to The Dark Knight, eXistenZ is to Inception.

  Inception is a film you will find yourself thinking about days after seeing it. It’s a work-out and great fun for that. And it deserves every penny.