INTERMISSIONDIRECTED BY: JOHN CROWLY
WRITTEN BY: MARK O'ROWE
WATCHED FOR: GREAT FILMS NOBODY SAW
RECOMMENDED BY: THE MAD HATTER
OVERALL SCORE: 6.75/10
A collective of underachievers struggle with careers, life, and love in Dublin.
Until Mad recommended this film I'll admit I hadn't heard even the slightest whisper of it. It's a rather shame as it's sort of your Magnolia/Love Actually combination film with some great moments emotionally and comically. It doesn't hurt the fact that Intermission starts out incredibly strong, if the first 2 minutes of the movie don't get you into it, nothing will. The opening conversation from Lehiff (Colin Farrell) sets a tone for the movie, it's going to be funny, it's going to be romantic, and just when you think you've got it, it's going to flip the script on you and make you guess again.
As performances go Farrell and Cillian Murphy are the real shiners, even if their character's decisions are among the least likable. Of course Mad happened to luck into picking a film with a huge guilty pleasure of mine in Kelly MacDonald, she has an amazing knack for making every scene she's in better, even when the movie is rather weak. The rest of the supporting cast are character players who do their part, with a small but entertaining role from Colm Meany. Given such talent, director John Crowly doesn't have to do much behind the camera but bring the story together, and that's exactly what he does.
Unfortunately though, Mark O'Rowe seems a bit unsure behind the pen. The movie has a dark sense of humor, moments of off the wall irony, but is rather standard material. At the same time the movie undermines it's rough characters with an ending that feels all too disneyish considering what some of these characters have done. Where the story beings to lack Crowly does manage to step up and put some nice visual spins on it, really highlighting the characters and putting a smile on the face of he audience. I don't fault either of them for the way the film goes though, they're both first-timers and they're sort of like a new kid with car keys. Sure they'll probably put a few dings in the car, but in the end they bring it home just fine.
Despite a few bumps along the way in narrative Intermission is a perfectly deep entertaining film that'll get you laughing and thinking at the same time.
Until Mad recommended this film I'll admit I hadn't heard even the slightest whisper of it. It's a rather shame as it's sort of your Magnolia/Love Actually combination film with some great moments emotionally and comically. It doesn't hurt the fact that Intermission starts out incredibly strong, if the first 2 minutes of the movie don't get you into it, nothing will. The opening conversation from Lehiff (Colin Farrell) sets a tone for the movie, it's going to be funny, it's going to be romantic, and just when you think you've got it, it's going to flip the script on you and make you guess again.
As performances go Farrell and Cillian Murphy are the real shiners, even if their character's decisions are among the least likable. Of course Mad happened to luck into picking a film with a huge guilty pleasure of mine in Kelly MacDonald, she has an amazing knack for making every scene she's in better, even when the movie is rather weak. The rest of the supporting cast are character players who do their part, with a small but entertaining role from Colm Meany. Given such talent, director John Crowly doesn't have to do much behind the camera but bring the story together, and that's exactly what he does.
Unfortunately though, Mark O'Rowe seems a bit unsure behind the pen. The movie has a dark sense of humor, moments of off the wall irony, but is rather standard material. At the same time the movie undermines it's rough characters with an ending that feels all too disneyish considering what some of these characters have done. Where the story beings to lack Crowly does manage to step up and put some nice visual spins on it, really highlighting the characters and putting a smile on the face of he audience. I don't fault either of them for the way the film goes though, they're both first-timers and they're sort of like a new kid with car keys. Sure they'll probably put a few dings in the car, but in the end they bring it home just fine.
Despite a few bumps along the way in narrative Intermission is a perfectly deep entertaining film that'll get you laughing and thinking at the same time.
1 better thoughts:
Guess I dug it a bit more than you did...but glad to see you got a little bit from it!
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