(This review can also be found on Mondo Magazine)
Crime and comedy collide in the streets of Dublin in the new film Perrier’s Bounty, being screened at TIFF.
The latest offering by director Ian Fitzgibbon is a black comedy crime thriller featuring some of the United Kingdom and Ireland’s top stars. Michael McCrea (Cillian Murphy) is a petty crook who owes his local gangster more than he can afford. After taking on a small job and being shut out of the payoff, things take a turn for the worse and suddenly Michael, his father Jim (Jim Broadbent), and neighbour Brenda (Jodie Whittaker) are on the run through the gritty streets of modern Dublin. Gangster Perrier (Brendan Gleeson) and his cronies are hot on the heels of the trio as thrills and comedy ensue over the course of a disastrous two-night span.
TIFF programmers likened Perrier’s Bounty to Guy Ritchie’s crime caper Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but Perrier’s Bounty is quite different in tone, with lots of Irish humour, charm, and even a hint of romance. The tongue-in-cheek humour comes mostly through the character of Jim, wise beyond his years, but with a few screws loose. Jim gets thrown into his son’s misfortune after a chance encounter with the Grim Reaper (Gabriel Byrne), who only appears as the film’s narrator, which helps keep the mood light and comic, even as roaring gun battles blaze on.
The film is not without its faults, namely that the story comes off a bit stale, but on the whole it is worthwhile to hang on for the wild ride through Dublin. That is, if you can make out the dialogue through the characters’ strong Irish accents and Dublin slang. Director Ian Fitzgibbon made a splash at TIFF in 2008 with his well-received, darkly comic film, A Film with Me in It. Fitzgibbon is carving a niche for himself in the crime thriller comedy genre, if Perrier’s Bounty is a sign of things to come. Fitzgibbon deftly handles his actors, which also include a large number of ferocious dogs. Working with the close-knit Irish film community is a rich bonus for Fitzgibbon as the pre-established off-screen relationships of the cast seem to unite the characters onscreen for added depth of relationships and interactions.
Michael, played by Cillian Murphy, is the film’s central focus, although the real scene stealers here are Brendan Gleeson and Jim Broadbent. The character of Michael is just a regular guy with a bit of hard luck. In spite of Murphy’s watchability and superb comic timing, he is overshadowed by the louder, brasher, and more comic characters in the film. Gleeson is superb as the gangster Perrier, and it looks like he is having a great time as the big, bad guy who just happens to have a soft spot for romance. The dichotomy between Murphy and Gleeson as fierce rivals is also quite intriguing to watch as the pair have previously appeared together in 28 Days Later and Breakfast on Pluto in father-son type relationships. However, the real inspiration here is Broadbent, who has a remarkable flair for comedy and provides many of the film’s heartiest laughs. As Jim, Broadbent lands equal laughs and sympathy from the audience as he finds himself along for the ride of his life, quite by chance.
Screenwriter Mark O’Rowe, who wrote the fantastic Boy A that screened at TIFF in 2007, and the equally darkly comic Intermission, has a way with Irish words. Rife with barbs and cutting dialogue, Perrier’s Bounty builds laughs upon laughs while never crossing the thin line into slapstick comedy — a line that the film may very well have crossed under the hand of another writer.
While the film has yet to secure distribution rights in North America, it has a release date of February 2010 in the U.K. and Ireland. Judging from the positive audience reaction at the world premiere, Perrier’s Bounty has something to offer to North American audiences as well, and is highly recommended for fans of Irish cinema and crime capers.
Crime and comedy collide in the streets of Dublin in the new film Perrier’s Bounty, being screened at TIFF.
The latest offering by director Ian Fitzgibbon is a black comedy crime thriller featuring some of the United Kingdom and Ireland’s top stars. Michael McCrea (Cillian Murphy) is a petty crook who owes his local gangster more than he can afford. After taking on a small job and being shut out of the payoff, things take a turn for the worse and suddenly Michael, his father Jim (Jim Broadbent), and neighbour Brenda (Jodie Whittaker) are on the run through the gritty streets of modern Dublin. Gangster Perrier (Brendan Gleeson) and his cronies are hot on the heels of the trio as thrills and comedy ensue over the course of a disastrous two-night span.
TIFF programmers likened Perrier’s Bounty to Guy Ritchie’s crime caper Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, but Perrier’s Bounty is quite different in tone, with lots of Irish humour, charm, and even a hint of romance. The tongue-in-cheek humour comes mostly through the character of Jim, wise beyond his years, but with a few screws loose. Jim gets thrown into his son’s misfortune after a chance encounter with the Grim Reaper (Gabriel Byrne), who only appears as the film’s narrator, which helps keep the mood light and comic, even as roaring gun battles blaze on.
The film is not without its faults, namely that the story comes off a bit stale, but on the whole it is worthwhile to hang on for the wild ride through Dublin. That is, if you can make out the dialogue through the characters’ strong Irish accents and Dublin slang. Director Ian Fitzgibbon made a splash at TIFF in 2008 with his well-received, darkly comic film, A Film with Me in It. Fitzgibbon is carving a niche for himself in the crime thriller comedy genre, if Perrier’s Bounty is a sign of things to come. Fitzgibbon deftly handles his actors, which also include a large number of ferocious dogs. Working with the close-knit Irish film community is a rich bonus for Fitzgibbon as the pre-established off-screen relationships of the cast seem to unite the characters onscreen for added depth of relationships and interactions.
Michael, played by Cillian Murphy, is the film’s central focus, although the real scene stealers here are Brendan Gleeson and Jim Broadbent. The character of Michael is just a regular guy with a bit of hard luck. In spite of Murphy’s watchability and superb comic timing, he is overshadowed by the louder, brasher, and more comic characters in the film. Gleeson is superb as the gangster Perrier, and it looks like he is having a great time as the big, bad guy who just happens to have a soft spot for romance. The dichotomy between Murphy and Gleeson as fierce rivals is also quite intriguing to watch as the pair have previously appeared together in 28 Days Later and Breakfast on Pluto in father-son type relationships. However, the real inspiration here is Broadbent, who has a remarkable flair for comedy and provides many of the film’s heartiest laughs. As Jim, Broadbent lands equal laughs and sympathy from the audience as he finds himself along for the ride of his life, quite by chance.
Screenwriter Mark O’Rowe, who wrote the fantastic Boy A that screened at TIFF in 2007, and the equally darkly comic Intermission, has a way with Irish words. Rife with barbs and cutting dialogue, Perrier’s Bounty builds laughs upon laughs while never crossing the thin line into slapstick comedy — a line that the film may very well have crossed under the hand of another writer.
While the film has yet to secure distribution rights in North America, it has a release date of February 2010 in the U.K. and Ireland. Judging from the positive audience reaction at the world premiere, Perrier’s Bounty has something to offer to North American audiences as well, and is highly recommended for fans of Irish cinema and crime capers.
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