In the final of our week of celebrating 4 years old, Tom White is taking a look at 4 Great Irish Movies from The Last 4 Years!
Grabbers
In the long history of Irish cinema, every genre of cinema had been tackled many time, except horror comedy. Well, that was before Grabbers. This tale of the inhabitants of a small island battling aliens while shit faced is a funny and smart slice of B movie craziness, packed to brim with homages to some of the sci-fi greats (keep your eyes peeled for the Aliens shout out near the end). A really great idea, played out perfectly with a great cast on top form, and special effects you thought you'd see in a low budget Irish movie.
Memorable scene: The local doctor trying to determine how a decapitated man died.
The Guard
A crime thriller, told through a very Irish eye, The Guard see's Brendan Gleeson in career best mode as the not exactly by the books Garda Sergeant Gerry Boyle forced to team up with Don Cheadle's strait laced FBI agent when a murder in his small Connemara town points to a ruthless gang of international drug smugglers. From a fantastic script packed with memorable one liners, to an amazing chemistry between Gleeson and Cheadle, threading the usual mismatched buddy cop territory with ease, it all leads to a truly enjoyable, very Irish comedy.
Memorable scene: The opening scene, with Boyle investigating a car crash. Summing up the character and entire tone of the film in under 5 minutes.
What Richard Did
Based on shocking real life events, chronicled in the book Bad Day in Black Rock, What Richard Did is a stark look at the power of guilt, featuring an unbelievable lead performance from Jack Reynor. This is his show and he grabs the role with both hands, delivering powerful scene after powerful scene. Shot beautifully by director Lenny Abrahamson, it doesn't really make you feel sympathetic for Richard and his action, more fascinated by the actions the incident at the heart of the movie forces people to take.
Memorable scene: Richard finally lets the weight of his actions overcome him.
Perrier's Bounty
Billed as an 'Urban Western', this follows up the smart writing and quirky tone of writer Mark O'Rowe's Intermission with a twist laden caper which see's Cillian Murphy on the run from Brendan Gleeson's crime boss. A great cast, including a scene stealing Jim Broadbent who believes he will die the next time he falls asleep, and a nice line in off the wall the humour that sits surprisingly well alongside the often dark and gritty subject matter, leads to another example of great irish cinema.
Memorable scene: The narration from Gabriel Byrne, playing the Grim Reaper.
