(2003)
3
Michael Hastings
Arriving a good five to ten years past the zeitgeist, John Crowley's grungy debut feature manages to offer a smattering of choice performances from some of Ireland's most talented young actors, even if it fails to add anything to the post-Pulp Fiction, post-Trainspotting indie landscape. Treading the middle ground between the sickly sweet ensemble romance Playing by Heart and the heist-for-heist's-sake films of Guy Ritchie, Intermission is shot and edited with such economy, it might give viewers the false impression that it's actually about something. Despite a vague plea for the redemptive power of love over the pitfalls of avarice, it isn't. Instead, Crowley's film offers a handful of usually underappreciated actors the chance to try out quirky personas the way one might sort through thrift-store overcoats: there's the innately sweet Cillian Murphy's befuddled-romantic, John; the reliably brilliant Shirley Henderson, almost managing to overcome her underwritten part as mustachioed misfit Sally; and the particularly propulsive Colin Farrell, making the most of his time away from the corrupting Southern California sun as gloss-free street punk Lehiff. Set to the beat of a schizophrenic pop/rock soundtrack, Intermission's cornucopia of suburban amorality may not add up to much, but the performers make certain that it's never less than watchable.
awards for Intermission on AllMovie
Intermission (2003)
Telluride Film Festival
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Presented |
Film Presented
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2003 |
Toronto International Film Festival
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Presented |
Film Presented
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2003 |
