Given the infectious pop music-infused soundtrack and Cillian Murphy’s lively, confident performance, one would expect that the movie’s violent scenes (chronicling the “troubles” that plagued Northern Ireland in the 1970s) would come across as jarring tonal shifts. It is to Neil Jordan’s credit that they instead seamlessly blend with the scenes of discos and magic shows, a coherence befitting a main character who often teeters on the edge of despair but steadfastly refuses to give in to it. The film moves along with much of the same joyous momentum.
by Beth Gilligan | Source: Sony Pictures Classics 35mm print
20 Mar 2006 12:32 PM | Submit Comment
