The Young Offenders

Alex Murphy and Chris Walley play two of the most endearing characters I've ever seen, sure they are misguided but they are also incredibly sweet. The film shows what life is like for single parents, people who are living in difficult circumstances, abusive parents. Quite dark subject matter, but the film had me laughing consistently throughout.

I loved Dominic MacHale as the pseudo villain, and without giving any spoilers his "redemption" is lovely. The story is silly, but reportedly based on real events which is interesting. Hilary Rose as Conor's mother is fantastic. For what was, I'm assuming a very low budget, it is technically well made and nicely shot.

Just an all round well done comedy.

Having recently been turned on to the BBC3 series, I noticed that the original film version is on Netflix at the moment, so decided to go back and watch that before digging further into the show.

Two teenage friends from Cork, Conor (Alex Murphy) and Jock (Chris Walley) head to the coast on stolen bikes, following a news report about a cocaine haul that was lost at sea and is washing up on a secluded beach. Despite being more adept at petty crimes, Conor and Jock see the cocaine as a way of making their fortunes. However, their repeated bike thefts have drawn the ire of Sergeant Healy (Dominic MacHale) who tracks the boys and follows them across the country.

"The Young Offenders" is a likable and funny movie. Though always willing to make a low brow joke about bodily functions or whatever, there's a depth and a wit - particularly to this movie version, that you might not anticipate. The boys are clearly slightly older than the characters that they are portraying, but their mannerisms, and the makeup and clothing choices, do help to sell the idea. They are also pretty fearless about what they are prepared to do for a laugh.

It's a road trip movie for the most part, and the film takes full advantage of its location to make the Irish coast look lovely. I saw one of the other reviewers use Guy Ritchie's films as a guidepost for this one, and that does make sense particularly at the ending. On the face of it, the conclusion is much more extreme than anything we've seen in the relatively gentle, relatively realistic preceding moments of the film. But in order to wrap up the various strands of the story, I'm willing to forgive it for the contrivance required.

Heart, laughs and scenery - it's a wonderful film.

This film is true to the essence of Cork and depicts its salt of the earth characters. Being from the city there was an extra layer of appreciation as a viewer: when the shipment was cast into the ocean a bale did go missing. I'm sure there were individuals who sought a fortune like the protagonists do in this film.

I was skeptical of watching the film as I was expecting it to be drawn out, filled with obvious one liners. I was happily surprised to discover I was wrong, the film creates two lovable rogue characters who are aware at times of their failings. No cheap jokes here, the dialogue was to the point without being obvious. I didn't expect the direction the film took, and am happy to see that the film is internationally well received, winning awards in LA, Texas and London.

If you are unsure, watch the movie trailer. Comedy gold with a tongue in cheek view, beautifully shot along West Cork. Don't take the characters as true representations of Corkonians, as this is a comedy. All aspects of this film are seamless: editing, dialogue, location, casting and soundtrack. Fantastic film, refreshingly not the typical Irish cinema most would expect from Ireland.

Having watched the TV Series first and fallen in love with Conor and Jock's escapades, I finally got around to watching the film. While it is still still fun, outrageous and cringeworthy (in a good way), the film isn't as good as the series. The characters feel slightly more 2 dimensional . If I had seen the film first, I doubt I would have wanted to watch the TV series. It's still an OK film and a good length, at less than 90 minutes and you can see the green shoots of what the TV show was to become.

That's not meant to be derogatory. I loved Dumb and Dumber. They were both silly and funny and had as the basis a true friendship in times of adversity. However, this film had a bit more edge and showed a bit more real life. Acting was uniformly good and the scenery was just gorgeous. I'd love to see a follow up in a few years time and hope that the two lad have not lost their zest for life, cheek or too much of their innocence. Effortlessly watchable