A Film with Me in It

This film is very funny, the cast are all excellent. The story, maybe its a bit mad, so what? Its a film, its not meant to be real. I would single out Amy Huberman as being excellent in this, I also saw her in another Irish film that played in Montreal in August, Satellites and Meteorites, where she was flawless. Dylan Moran, while perhaps reprising many of the other characters he has played previously, was very enjoyable to watch, as was Keith Allen though his part was predictably small. A few cameos at the end really were well placed, especially Johnny Rhys, though the context of his cameo was a little close to reality so I'm not sure what way he will come across to auds in Ireland. Throughly enjoyable film, the industry in Toronto reacted extremely positively to it and it along with Kisses really showed us all that Ireland can, when it wants, produce good product. Well done to all involved and I hope it goes well on its release.

This black comedy is a story of Pierce (Dylan Moran) and Mark (Mark Doherty), two jobless Irish friends sharing a run down apartment with Mark's girlfriend Sally (Amy Huberman), and Mark's disabled brother David (David O'Doherty). The apartment is owned by a disgruntled Jack (Keith Allen). The movie suddenly takes a turn for the worse one day in their uneventful and eroding lives.

The movie really takes the very definitive yet subtle elements of black comedy and ties it together with very interesting plot twists. Although no comparison can be made, for the sake of a relative scale- A Film with Me in It is abreast with some of the blackest comedy works of the Coen Brothers (such as Burn After Reading, Barton Fink and The Man Who Wasn't There).

The movie tends to drag a little here and there, but makes up for it in the fine character development and cinematography. As the plot progresses, the viewer is often subtly taunted to question their understanding of the story so far.

I'm a fan of Dylan Moran's stand-up work, and he has lived up to my expectations of him on the screen as well. All in all, it's definitely a good watch.

Ratings: 5 - Amazing 4 - Great 3 - Very good 2 - Good 1 - Fair 0 - Poor

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Characters: 2 Screenplay: 2 Cinematography: 2 Emotional: 1

Overall: 2.0

The film does a good job of walking the line between tasteful and tasteless of dark comedy. Nothing in this film makes sense or is logical, but it isn't supposed to; each ridiculous twist and turn can be amusing. To me, it was amusing and I had a few laughs, but they can be a little sparse. And in the end, it leaves you feeling a bit empty. While that may be the point of the film, it also feels a bit like a television episode that was dragged on. Overall, I found it a good experience.

The characters are stupid and illogical. Entertainment depends on whether or not one can get over this fact. At times I could laugh, but at times I was just dumbstruck. The actors also did a pretty good job of appearing similarly dumbstruck. Huberman, particularly, did quite well. Moran is his usual self.

Not only is it hard to develop any kind of connection with the characters, but they can induce hate. At times, I just can't turn off shoe-switching. "WHY, YOU FOOL!" I scream in my head, but they never seem to hear me. Sometimes inducing this kind of emotion is good, but they overdid it and it can definitely begin to shift to annoyance, ruining the suspension of disbelief.

The screenplay was absurd, in a good way, but could have flown better. The characters are introduced haphazardly and the buildup is very slow. Eventually I began wondering where the dead bodies were. The clear foreshadowing does create an interesting little "whose gonna get it" atmosphere, but they needed to anchor more of the script around it. If it was worked and teased a bit more, it would've been great. It got better as the bodies began piling up and the absurdities amounted.

The tone of the film started off teetering between funny and serious, so some parts left the viewer uncertain as to how to feel. The ending expunged on the humor created and is a hate it or love it thing.

The cinematography, on the other hand, was surprisingly aesthetic. With no flair, the angles and composition is well done for a low budget film.

While I was never really drawn into the film, I enjoyed the brief nonsensical departure from sane people.

Mark Doherty not only stars in this film, he wrote it. I cannot imagine a mind that conceived of this. It is so bizarre that it is hilarious.

We are talking two losers, Mark (Doherty) and his friend Pierce (Dylan Moran). Mark is faced with a series of accidents that leave him utterly incapable of action. He turns to Pierce, who just makes things worse.

This film is not laugh-out-loud funny, but it is hilarious. Of course, you have to see the humor , not in the tragedies that occur, but in the response to it by Mark and Pierce.

Amy Huberman was excellent in her role as Mark's girlfriend, leaving us wanting more in her short role.

This requires a little suspension of disbelief. An appreciation of the deftness of the actors helps. If you have a little background in Beckett, there are some more resonances. Both Moran and Doherty know how to spin the story, lend credibility to the scenario. It is a tribute to their intelligence as actors that the premise engages you and holds your attention. Watching them is a delight as they portray their downbeat characters with warmth and affection. Their synergy and subtlety makes this a low-key delight. If action, cgi and high-octane blockbusters are your bag, stay away. Otherwise, enjoy the wittiness of this small scale gem and celebrate the fact that such pictures get into circulation at all in such cash-straightened times.