It's going to be a hard sell. A film entitled Rat starring Imelda Staunton and Pete Postlethwaite set in a housing estate in Kimmage,and following the fortunes of a man who inexplicably turns into a rat. Released in the same week when Eddie Murphy dons a fur suit and plays the entire cast of a multimillion dollar Hollywood comedy, Rat is going to struggle to find an audience. That is a great tragedy because to miss this superb surreal comedy would be to miss one of the greatest Irish films ever made and perhaps the funniest. So many Irish comedies depend on idiotic stereotypes, it's a refreshing change to see a film where the story and the script take precedence.
Nobody puts a foot wrong throughout the entire film.
It is perfectly realised from beginning to end, and most importantly it's quite hilarious. Bizarre situations crackle with comic dialogue where not a single word is wasted. The only place Hubert can find comfort is the local boozer. Hubert complains of feeling unwell. She rallies her family around and swears them to secrecy, ashamed of what the neighbours might think.