Between the Canals

Well i've been a big contributor to the IMDb forum for a few years now and finally i get to comment on a film directed by my brother Mark.

I may be a little biased but Mark has done a great job here, it's very gritty and realistic - it makes the commercial 'gangster' films like the general and intermission seem real artificial because you can tell with those films that they are actors.

Mark used almost all non-actors who lived in those areas of the inner city we rarely see on the big screen. Mark's film entered the IFI cinema in Dublin two days ago and it will run for another 5 days.

It will then be decided if it moves to the multiplexes. Check it out, it's great.

One of the funniest pieces of television ever produced was the episode of I'M ALAN PARTRIDGE where the title character is networking with a couple of Irish TV producers and Patridge is convinced they're members of the IRA because that's what Ireland is famous for along with every stereotype of the Emerald Isle . Watching BETWEEN THE CANALS one gets the impression it was directed by Alan Partridge

Should I be honest or should I be politically correct ? Well I am the sort of guy who says things like "I didn't recognise you with your clothes on" to a female colleague at work only to find her boyfriend is sitting just outside of earshot in her car so I'll just revert to type You see this is very small budget film making and is no doubt a labour of love and I don't want to hurt anyones feelings so if you worked on this film and don't like honesty then stop reading at this point please

From the opening titles every cliché is dug up quicker than an Irish potato field . Michael Collins , black and tans , slums etc etc appear in a photo montage and that gives a hint we're going to be watching the oxymoron of "stereotypical realism" . Stereotypical in that all Dubliners are likable rascals who enjoy a drink interspersed with the occasional gangland murder and realism in that the acting style is mainly down to adlibbing by people who couldn't act their way out of a wet paper bag . This technique never really works and is a distraction . Somewhat fortunate then that there's little in the way of substance to distract this audience member from what's happening on screen . The story is very weak and with the exception of the F and C words I couldn't make out a word that was being spoken

Apologies if I've hurt any feelings with my brutal honesty but if it's any consolation I look forward to a sequel which will no doubt be called MONKEY TENNIS

I Love Irish films and TV shows but my good this is awful, the acting is so bad Fair City looks like the Sopranos and the Script has no meaning, I am sorry but that is 88mins of my life i will never get back. I would love to say something positive maybe Peter Coonan (Fran in Love/Hate) is not the worst and plays a really bad role quiet well. sorry guys just not worth watching. with the success of love/hate its a good subject idea but i just think the Script is very weak, the acting is so below par its cringe to watch it has not context and really no plot at all. Hopefully who ever the director was he can try again and come up with a successful movie but i am sorry to say this is a complete flop.

This is Barry Keoghan's first film and Peter Coogans early days. Hes the staple of the film. Bad acting overall, but lots of the cast were not actors and inner city locals. So I assume director was going for realism.

Its basically a day in the life of several Dublin north inner city scumbags. Messy story but most of the dialogue is genuine of the characters.

Fantastic micro-budget Irish crime drama. Shockingly low IMDb rating, especially in contrast to its positive reviews. I guess the film-going public are STUPID (or don't understand the thick Irish accents, in all likelihood). 'Mean Streets' comparisons are apt in its depiction of working-class best friends tied up in petty crime, and the conflict of interest that begins to develop between them. It takes a turn for the weird with the introduction of a bisexual Nigerian drug dealer with a sword.

However, its financial limitations show in the film's length of an hour and twelve minutes, credits included, as is a musical montage of pictures of Irish people. However, it's brilliant what Mark O'Connor did with so little. Review by Jack from Letterboxed