Perrier’s Bounty (Ian FitzGibbon, Ireland/UK)

Ian FitzGibbon’s new film joins Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent, and Brendan Gleeson together in one hell of an adventure. Think In Bruges, but a little more whacky and you have this purely adrenaline-filled action trip. Cillian Murphy plays a down and out North Dubliner who has a bit of a debt. The film takes us on his quest to get this money along with characters he meets along the way. The story goes to most of the familiar places, but the twisted tone is what elevates it to the next level. There are moments of pure hilarity, followed by sudden tragic occurrences, hearkening back to Gleeson’s aforementioned film. Bounty has much more of a playful tone and that is good thing. Jim Broadbent plays Cillian’s detached father. Their skewed relationship brings many laughs and a couple of surprises as they run into drugs, murder and many bad guys. Gleeson, whose onscreen time is just short of a cameo, gives the villain character a new twist with his matter-of-fact delivery and heartfelt moments with the gang.

I’ll save the best for last. Cillian Murphy can do no wrong. He plays the desperate lead to perfection. It may be his accent, his good looks, or generally cool demeanor that make his character infinitely watchable, but everything adds up just right, giving us one of the best performances of the festival. FitzGibbon opens the door into urban Dublin with beauty. The movie can get a bit silly at times and it doesn’t quite break the genre in any new ways, but those are only minor slights in an overall fun film. This dark, twisted, hilarious tale unfortunately has only European distribution at the moment, but if it comes near you, don’t miss it.

8 out of 10

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