Intermission

Intermission starts with a bang and just keeps going, following the intertwined lives of its characters who are in search of either love, money or fame. This darkly funny Irish film speeds along, delivering numerous memorable scenes and a variety of interesting characters.

The dialog is sharp and the story carefully laid out. The direction shows a true love a film making - a desire to make something lively and entertaining and funny, yet truthful and touching.

Despite the multiple story lines and players, Intermission holds together, arriving at its final destination at just the right time. Not an ounce of fat to be found here, this is a well-crafted film.

I'm quite surprised that this film hasn't got a higher rating. This really is a gem of movie. Well-written, well-acted, witty and brutally black dialog makes this a modern Irish classic. The acting is excellent. Colin Farrell is well cast as the stereotypical Dublin scumbag which he seems to have great fun portraying. Cillian Murphy is great as the lovelorn rogue John while David Wilmot steals the show from his more famous co-stars as unlucky in love Oscar. Kelly MacDonald, Shirley Henderson, Deirde O' Kane and Colm Meany add more weight to a highly talented cast.

The film follows the lives of several different characters in contemporary Dublin and how their lives intersect. The violence and coarse language is matched by the tender and honest scenes. The fast pace of the movie holds the viewers attention fantastically well as we follow the lives of these highly likable characters(well maybe not Farrell but he is still compelling and hilarious to watch) while they search for love, happiness and the answers to life's complicated dilemmas. A true original. Even though its not much of an achievement, by far the best Irish movie ever made. Perfect stories. Perfect writing. Perfect characters. Perfect acting. Perfect film.

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

to be honest, the first scene sums this movie up, it's a punch in the face. you have to have a very dry sense of humor to like this movie, i don't think it was made for the usual "american" market. our culture is geared toward in your face comedy, like old school or dodge ball, where subtle darker humor about everyday life gets lost. husbands leave wives, people get fired from terrible jobs, and in general have crappy lives. but it is up to us to enjoy what we have, and finding the strength to keep on going no matter what, and this movie is like that. it has an all star cast, from Colin Farrell to Colm Meany, Shirley Henderson to Cillian Murphy they all shine like the stars they are.

I really enjoyed this movie. I laughed and laughed. It held me intrigued and wasn't a chore to watch or follow the story line. This movie dared to do what many others don't - very un-PC in places. Good on them for making such a refreshing movie. Sure we've seen many elements of the story line before and could anticipate many of the outcomes but I don't think this detracted from it at all. Great to see so many well known actors in different roles too. And demonstrating their acting talent by creating believable Irish accents. I did wonder if Colin Farrell had to practice his mother tongue after being in the USA for so long - seems he did OK though. I would definitely watch this again and recommend it whole heartedly to others.