Irish Crime

I Went Down is directed by Paddy Breathnach and written by Conor McPherson. It stars Peter McDonald, Brendan Gleeson, Tony Doyle and Peter Caffrey. Music is by Dario Marianelli and cinematography by Cian de Buitlear.

Fresh out of prison, Git Hynes (McDonald) runs into trouble with local mob boss Tom French (Doyle) and finds himself having to work off a debt to him. He's to accompany Bunny Kelly (Gleeson) to Cork and locate Frank Grogan (Caffrey) and bring him back to Dublin. There's some murky history at the core of this request, but for now Bunny and Git must survive each other and a host of life challenges before they begin to worry about Tom French's motives.

Hugely popular in Ireland for a number of years, this independent comedy/drama is finally starting to get noticed by a wider home viewing audience. Film takes a couple of likable rogues and sets them off on a topsy-turvy journey of peril and self discovery. So far so formulaic then. No question about it, plot is unadventurous and outcome is hardly in the realms of the twisty surprise. But dialogue and character interactions are sharp and vital, often cutting and witty. The actors are ever watchable (especially Gleeson and Caffrey), while the fact that the story focuses on a different Ireland to the one that's often tainted by "The Troubles", gives the film a freshness that off sets the standard buddy buddy road movie formula of the plot.

Director Breathnach goes for the slow burn approach, choosing to let McPherson's script dominate the picture. Yes there's some action, and good sequences flit in and out of the narrative, but the director is mostly about letting his characters breath, fully forming them with each passage of play during the guy's journey/mission. Even a sex scene is deftly slotted in and comes out as tasteful and a further expansion on the character of Git Hynes. It's thoughtful film making as regards being a character driven piece. There's a most interesting side issue involving the women in Git's and Bunny's lives, two men just about traversing the path on the wrong side of the law, both with gal trouble that gnaws away at their masculinity.

It's not the Irish Midnight Run, as I was personally led to believe it was, and any expectation of a violent fun fest will only lead to disappointment. But it has many virtues to make it a safe recommendation to those that enjoy crisp and intelligent dialogue and fully formed characterisations. Nice photography, too. 7/10

'I Went Down' is a great movie.

Ok, I'm Irish, I would say that.

However, most English-speaking people would actually have no problem in understanding and appreciating most of the wit, humour and language in the movie, despite all the 'scare-mongering' on the web. In fact the movie proved to be very popular in non-English-speaking countries as well. The film contains a good measure of violence mixed with humour that isn't forced. The situations presented in the movie, while being out of the ordinary, are presented in a way people can relate to, more-so than many American movies of a similar vein.(I'm talking about the usual mob based story involving million dollar drugs deals, corrupt FBI agents, rogue-turned-hero and the like. That just doesn't happen too regularly outside the confines of script-writer's minds and movie theatres.) 'I Went Down', by not being over-ambitious with either its villains or heroes, creates more believable characters and a situation that could happen anywhere.(It probably won't, but then again it could...groovy, huh?)

I must admit, I didn't enjoy this movie very much when I saw it in the cinema. But then I watched it again when it was on television.and it blew me away. The humour got to me and its one of the few movies I laugh out loud to.

I urge anyone who didn't enjoy it first time 'round, give it a second chance. Those who haven't seen it - Rent it NOW! Here's the teaser that'll bug you until you do see it (and that'll make those of you have seen it smile smugly to yourselves ;^) - Think about the balaclava scene, think about the gun that Bunny gives Git and you're thinking about cinematic comedy classics.

When I saw this movie, and after I had stopped laughing, I realised that it wasn't a film which was going to travel well. As an Irishman, I've been somewhat disappointed with the recent spate of melodramatic and formulaic films that have been leaving our shores in recent years (i.e. Michael Collins). "I Went Down" is a refreshing release from this trend.

Having read the 'net reviews it seems my fears have been realised. This movie doesn't hold back when it comes to Irish accents, figures of speech and wit. I know I was falling off my seat at the behaviour of the characters, the "Black and Amber" pub and the meeting in the bog. I hope people see it for it was intended to be, an Irish movie, and not criticise it because it doesn't fit under the Hollywood model.

dave.

What a pleasant surprise! One of the earlier set of well-made Irish films with not a shamrock or a leprechaun in sight. The banter between Gleeson and McDonald is well-timed, realistic and naturally, hilarious. A film that somewhat reflects a 'real' Ireland that we can relate to(er, possibly without all the guns and violence). A film that shows what a talent we have here.

I went to see this movie and was enjoying it, and then it came to the bit where they were rescuing the hostage from the house. Imagine my surprise when I realised that the house in question was in fact my own one!! My girlfriend and I had just bought it a month before and knew nothing about the fact that it was used as a location in the movie....the surrounding woodland on the property was also used for other scenes. Needless to say our attention was rivetted to the screen from then on, but that said, it was a very entertaining movie anyhow. I do however think you need to have a certain understanding of the Irish psyche and way of life to get full value from the hilarious script. Brendan Gleeson and Peter MacDonald both excellent, even if they did have a shoot-out at my kitchen door!!