Trouble with Sex

I have been trying my hardest to repress the memory of this film, but it's true awfulness has forced it to surface over and over again never allowing me to forget the horrific experience of sitting through this, the second Fintan Connolly film I've had the misfortune to watch.

I can only blame myself for this one I had fair warning after watching Connollys first attempt Flick, which itself was beyond terrible This was quite literally the worst film it has ever been my bad luck to be obliged to sit through.

The acting is just plain bad without exception, the plot non-existent and I cringed more times at the dialog than I can count.

It is difficult to express the anger I felt leaving the cinema after this film. Surely a simple script review would have revealed that the characters were non-existent, the dialogue banal and the film itself profoundly pointless. At one stage in the film one character accuses the other of replacing intimacy with sex. Is this (rather unoriginal) point the issue the film is trying to explore? If so it manages to contribute exactly nothing to our understanding of it. It seems to be straining towards the sort of European art house film which examines the nature of relationships in modern society. Yet it fails to create real characters or to engage meaningfully with its subject matter. Issues are briefly alluded to, such as one of the main character's previous failed relationship, and then dropped, without adding anything to our understanding of that character. Indeed the characters themselves seem nothing more than a collection of lines spoken, with nothing substantial or sustained at their core. At points in the film they do such things as unexplainedly walking out of a room during foreplay and not returning, seemingly because this is the kind of thing that characters do in the sort of film that this is desperately striving to be.

The list of things which annoyed me about this film are too long to fully elaborate on. However I feel special mention should be given to a scene where the female lead gives a rendition from start to finish of Crowded House's 'Fall at Your Feet'. Whilst the performance itself is perfectly pleasant, the scene contributes nothing to the films development and would have been cut by a director with a clearer idea of how to construct a film. It is emblematic of the films wider problem - it has neither the tightly constructed narrative necessary to qualify as a conventional romantic drama, nor the required level of intelligence or insight which would justify its ponderous depiction of the central relationship. Like this karaoke moment, it is indulgent, empty, and ultimately a waste of screen time.

This is a good looking sexy Irish film and no one is talking in that cod Dublin accent so beloved of Irish filmmakers. Featuring solid performances from Aidan Gillen and newcomer Renee Weldon as two lovers adrift in present day Dublin who meet in a pub, this is a curiously engaging film. The dialogue is relatively sparse, the piece very European. Images are used to tell the story. There are some good cameos – Eamonn Morrissey singing I got my hole on the Malahide Road and a barfly talking about playing handball against the twin towers "before they knocked them over". The story is very straightforward. Weldon strikes up a relationship with the reserved Gillen, they get it on and begin a series of sexual assignations in and around the city. Never mind the explicit 9 Songs. Here, the love scenes are well handled, stylised and the whole thing kind of works. Dublin has never looked so romantic, thanks to striking photography and good songs. You can smoke in these pubs. Weldon is especially good and you can see why she won awards for her acting. High point Weldon, low point extraneous detail. Warning: Brendan Gleeson is not in this film.

Other than the fact that all the background actors were literal planks (especially the character of Ivan), I actually enjoyed this film. The score was somewhat tedious after a while but pretty nonetheless. I think I heard the same guitar tune so much that I failed to acknowledge any background misc whatsoever. Another notable sound feature was the overlay of moans during intimate scenes, which was... interesting to say the least. However, in terms of the actual film, Aidan Gillen and Renée Wilson had a great onscreen chemistry and there were some very sweet and tender moments! Perhaps if there was more dialogue between the pair, the film could have taken a more heartfelt turn; building a more three dimensional character complex for the both of them. I only found this film recently and picked it up because I think Gillen is a fantastic actor. Needless to say, it was actually quite a little treat. Oh, and Aidan Gillen is adorable.