Terrific film, great dialogue, laugh-aloud moments

Rating: 9/10 (29 June 2008)

Reading through these comments, one is struck by how much goodwill there is to this film. One would think that only those with their noses out of joint would bother writing negative comments, but to have the overwhelming reaction positive shows how engaging this film is. To have Colin Farrell as the star would normally stop me from sitting in front of the telly to watch him for 90 minutes but he provides a sympathetic, nuanced performance without going over the top which would have been understandable given the storyline. Gleeson is given ample screen time to show why he's one of Ireland's great thespians. I was first introduced to him in the film 'I Went Down;' although I can't for the life of me remember that film apart from the nonsensical reason given for the title, I do remember Gleeson's performance as a revelation that single-handedly raised an otherwise non-descript film. And Fiennes once again shows no matter the genre, he'll step up and nail it. His accent is spot-on; I thought for a minute they'd hired Michael Caine to phone in a cameo when I first heard his voice. The plot itself is nothing to get worked up over, and the various turns used to stretch out the film are a bit laboured but, with the sublime humour and great dialogue, it doesn't matter. And what a setting! My main issue was the ending where it rather fell apart for me in terms of believability, but it is truly minor compared to everything that makes up this movie. This is definitely worth an evening in to watch. www.lairdkeir.spaces.live.com