Reviewed: Perrier's Bounty

(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.

Reviewed: An Education

(This review can also be found on http://www.mondomagazine.net/)

An Education is one of TIFF 2009’s opening night films. The film takes the standard coming-of-age tale and breathes new life into it. An Education features a fantastic ensemble cast and a clever screenplay adaptation by writer Nick Hornby, and directed by Lone Scherfig.

Jenny, a bright girl on the verge of leaving her childhood behind as she turns 17, finds herself drawn to the charismatic and handsome older man, David. The bookwormish and gung-ho student gets drawn into David’s lavish lifestyle of supper clubs, museum visits, and romantic trips to Paris. Jenny’s immature and mousy school-boy suitor is suddenly passé, as is her dreams of studying at Oxford. Why study a dead language like Latin, only to become a civil servant to the British government when you can live the jet-setting high life instead?

David is part of the well-heeled crowd, offering a life of luxury, which will have most women swooning in five minutes flat. Of course, as Jenny soon realizes, things aren’t always as they seem, and she soon finds herself not only questioning David, but also her own dreams, desires, and identity.

Moodily set in 1960s London, England, An Education dances along at a decent tempo, keeping the storyline interesting and providing some unexpected laughs. Based on an autobiographical memoir by journalist Lynn Barber, writer Nick Hornby of About a Boy and High Fidelity fame works his magic again on the screenplay to create a very interesting and adult reflection on the desires and thoughts of a young girl. Witty and engaging, Hornby keeps the dialogue light and moving, giving the actors fully formed characters to play.

Relative unknown actress Carey Mulligan takes on the role as the naïve and precocious Jenny. A refreshing actress, Mulligan plays Jenny perfectly, echoing the cockiness-meets-bashfulness of a 17 year old girl, about to take her first steps outside the school system. Jenny’s innocence is wonderfully set against that of her older beau David played by Peter Sarsgaard. Always charismatic, Sarsgaard walks that fine line between charming and smarmy, a niche that has worked well for the actor and suits his role as David to a T. Alfred Molina becomes a scene stealer as Jenny’s father. Emma Thompson is clever as the headmistress although her screen time is short-lived. Rounding out the ensemble cast are Dominic Cooper, Olivia Williams, and Sally Hawkins.

The film borders two separate eras: that of the middle class London, sleepily emerging from the 1950s, and that of the glamorous 1960s popularized in television’s Mad Men. Although An Education wholly takes place in the early 1960s, the time pre-dates the era of the swinging sixties in London, where women were still wholly defined by and financially dependent on their husbands. The dichotomy between the two eras is a perfect metaphor for Jenny as she is caught between childhood and womanhood, school and freedom. The set design of the 1960s supper clubs are to die for. You can almost taste the smoke hanging in the air, surrounding the beautiful people sipping cocktails and listening to French music.

Director Lone Scherfig puts all the pieces together to create a mesmerizing film, full of unexpected turns, making An Education a must-see film.