INTERMISSION Rating: (out of 5 stars) Director: John Crowley Producers: Steve Woolley, Neil Jordan, Alan Moloney Writer: Mark O'Rowe Director of Photography: Ryszard Lenczewski Cast: Cillian Murphy, Kelly Macdonald, Colin Farrell, Colm Meaney, David Wilmot, Brian F. O'Byrne, Shirley Henderson Visit the IMDB page for full cast and crew.

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Review by: Laurel Williams
3/15/04

Intermission is an ensemble dark comedy that moves fast, acts tough, and has a sense of humor about itself. Much like Guy Ritchie's films, Snatch and Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels, Intermission starts with a cast of seemingly disparate heavily-accented characters whose stories weave together by the end. The difference between Crowley's film and Ritchie's is that Intermission manages to have a lot more dimension and genuine feeling behind it. It has style without sacrificing substance.

The cast is led by Cillian Murphy (28 Days Later) who plays John, a store clerk in Dublin who is still sulking over the break up with his long time girlfriend, Deirdre (Kelly Macdonald). He broke up with her, secretly hoping she would fight him on it. Instead she has seemingly moved on, and moved in, with a bank manager who left his wife for her. Deirdre's sister, Sally (Shirley Henderson), has shut herself off from men after a traumatic break-up by hiding behind her over-hairy upper lip. John's best friend, Oscar, is so lonely that he drags John to a singles bar for seniors hoping to score. Lehiff (Colin Farrell), a morally questionable petty thief, dreams of settling down and owning his own wok. Always close on his tail is Jerry (Colm Meaney), a "rugged" cop who loves to prove how rugged he is. He is flattered by the interest of a young documentarian who is eager to prove himself with an especially "edgy and dark" piece. Underlying all of these characters is a yearning for recognition, and in some cases, love.

Everywhere the humorous is played right along with the tragic; the romantic with the ruthless. From the very beginning, the film shows its two sides with a seduction scene that takes a brutal turn. Lehiff talks up a girl at a coffee shop, charming her with his plans of the future. He talks of settling down, getting domesticated, maybe even falling in love. Maybe with her, even. And just when it looks like he could have her for the taking, he punches her in the face and steals the money from her till. I'm not sure if it's a statement about how we shouldn't look for love because we'll end up getting hurt, or just a really great way to grab the audience's attention. The rest of the film replays different versions of that scene, in a sense. Characters put themselves out there, hoping for love or glory, and it either pays off, or they end up getting a figurative sucker punch.

It might be too convenient that all the stories end up interweaving, but it is a convention you must accept from the outset of this type of film, especially when it pays off like Intermission does. Writer Mark O'Rowe produced a story that manages to be both heart-warming and shocking at the same time -- not a simple feat.

(An IFC Films release. Opens in New York and Los Angeles on March 19, 2004. Expands to more cities at later dates.)