This film's main fault is the same one made by so many directors who attempt to make films about "true-life" events or "real-life" characters: These directors believe that there's so much drama and interest inherent in the event or character they're portraying that they forget to give us a complete film.
This is clearly what happened here. John Boorman recreates for us what I guess are famous parts of the Martin Cahill (aka The General) legend, but he leaves out of the script much indication of who this man is or why he turned out the way he did. And if, like me, you'd never heard of him, you're left wondering what you're supposed to be getting from this film. It's not terribly funny; it's not terribly clever; and Cahill as he's portrayed by Brendan Gleeson, is not terribly smart. What he is is bold and ruthless in a way that the (as portrayed by Boorman) mild Irish temperament is not equipped to handle.
I suspect that this film would play better for an Anglo-Irish audience, people who knew who Cahill was and who understood the culture in which he developed. For me, it wasn't a good caper movie, it wasn't a good comedy, and it wasn't a good character study.
And I'm getting a little overfull of films portraying the Irish as large leprechauns.
This is clearly what happened here. John Boorman recreates for us what I guess are famous parts of the Martin Cahill (aka The General) legend, but he leaves out of the script much indication of who this man is or why he turned out the way he did. And if, like me, you'd never heard of him, you're left wondering what you're supposed to be getting from this film. It's not terribly funny; it's not terribly clever; and Cahill as he's portrayed by Brendan Gleeson, is not terribly smart. What he is is bold and ruthless in a way that the (as portrayed by Boorman) mild Irish temperament is not equipped to handle.
I suspect that this film would play better for an Anglo-Irish audience, people who knew who Cahill was and who understood the culture in which he developed. For me, it wasn't a good caper movie, it wasn't a good comedy, and it wasn't a good character study.
And I'm getting a little overfull of films portraying the Irish as large leprechauns.