Intermission - As enjoyable as putting HP Sauce in your tea

‘Intermission’ is one of those films that should have been huge and yet somehow never really achieved its true potential.  Many people call it ‘the Irish Trainspotting’ and I can sort of see where they’re coming from.  However, it’s not quite as bleak as Trainspotting, relying more on everyday folk and the relationship troubles they get into.  Plus the odd armed robbery thrown in there for good measure.

When I sat my girlfriend down and made her watch it, she said that it was good, but could have been better if it was a little more focused.  I guess that’s fair criticism.  It is a little all over the place here and there.  It relies on numerous characters and storylines, all coming together in the end.  And, like any story with multiple characters, not all get the screen time they deserve to fully flesh them out.  You have your stars like Cillian Murphy and Kelly MacDonald leading the way (and Colin Farrell is kind of there as a marketing ploy as he’s featured heavily in the film’s marketing, yet only really appears in the form of an extended cameo – not to say he isn’t fun and evil all at the same time!).

Intermission isn’t a family film.  Don't be fooled by the cover that makes it look like a rom-com.  It’s comedy as its blackest.  All the humour is derived from ‘adult’ situations and there are plenty of scenes that you wouldn’t want to watch with your mother.  I think it’s definitely an underrated little gem.  Yes, it has a few flaws, but all its jokes seemed to hit their targets where I was concerned and I’ll continue to sit everyone I know down and force them to watch it for many years to come.

9/10 almost as perfect as The Godfather