:: Intermission

More than fifty characters and eleven distinct stories intertwine in this tale of tough love in urban Ireland. It’s about making all the wrong choices and taking the long road to get what you want.

When two lovers break-up, they unknowingly trigger a bizarre chain of events, which throw the lives of everyone around them into turmoil, from their close friends and families, to complete strangers. John (Cillian Murphy) leaves girlfriend Deirdre (Kelly Macdonald) heartbroken as “little test” to see if she loves him. His plan backfires when she decides to move on, rather than pursue him, and he is the one left distraught and lonely. As they each deal with their pain they reach out to others, drawing them into their lives and the story.

The sex-starved Oscar (David Wilmot), the emotionally distraught Sally (Shirley Henderson), Jerry the maverick detective (Colm Meaney) and Lehiff the petty thug (Colin Farrell) are absorbed in their own problems, unaware of the ties that join them. As the truth of their connectedness is revealed, they each come to a turning point their lives and must take control, if they have the courage.

First-time film director John Crowley and first-time screenwriter Mark O’Rowe are more at home in creating stage productions and Intermission definitely has a theatrical feel, in its highly peopled scenes and heavy reliance on chunks of dialogue to advance the plot. The nature of the film means that some intriguing characters are not fully explored, while some other characters do not quite ring true as they react to traumatic circumstances.

It was filmed using documentary-style long lenses and lots of hand-held footage, which gives the production a very raw appearance. This suits the violence and bitterness that underlies much of the humour in this film. The strong Irish accents are difficult to understand at times and the convoluted maze of stories often moves slowly.

Intermission has some great black comedy, some drama and some attempts at action. It is interesting, more than entertaining in that, like life, it doesn’t fit into a clear genre but has a little bit of everything.