...not for me.

Rating: 2/10 (12 November 2010)

I was actually not going to write anything about this film because I only watched 40 minutes of it. However, I'll just tell you why that was.
This really is an "acquired taste" film. Probably of an interest to you if you're Irish, and lived in 1920's Ireland. As I have very little knowledge of Ireland during this time, being English and 19, meant I struggled to follow the story of it. It was rather depressing, added to with the constant stream of quiet piano music. It just seemed like a bunch of angry Irish people shooting each other and beating each other up. Yes, yes, this is what it was probably like at the time, but that doesn't mean I should want to watch it. I can see why it did get a thumbs up from many critics, and they are probably more mature than me, and will delve deeper in to this film. I, however, didn't want to waste 2 hours of my life doing so. Yes, the acting was reasonable, there were times when I felt sorry for the characters. On the other hand, I don't think I cared enough and this is why I couldn't watch it. I like being able to associate with the characters on screen, feel their pain, feel their sadness. That's just what this film was missing: the ability to make you feel. It shouldn't matter that I'm not Irish, I should still want to watch it and be interested in it. I was not. The only good thing about it was Cillian Murphy!