you are not alone , pointless movie

Good points of the film :-
that it starts off as a sort of thriller/IRA kidnap story - but then veers off into a sort of adult drama.
Stephen Rea's performance as Fergus. I have sort of criticised him for this in the past - but, I admit after a recent re-watch, it's quite good. Nicely underplayed - and also good chemistry with the other actors(Davidson, Richardson, Dubar, etc.).
I sort of appreciate it's trying to do something different and not be a cookie cutter movie.
Good performance from Davidson. The "twist" is sort of a side issue as far as I'm concerned. This film is more a sort of love story - but, only Dil sort of falls for men who are heterosexual.
Bad points of the film :-
It didn't save Palace Pictures!
I did sort of think that perhaps Whitaker was miscast. Okay, some of his stuff was dramatic - when he and Fergus are talking(Rea) - but other times I did think he seemed out of place in the film.
Some of the scenes were a bit pretentious(the stuff with the cricket).
Overall, whilst I'll admit the film has its moments and okay, it is interesting in places - I do sort of feel that it isn't quite the sum of all its parts. Like I said, I appreciate they tried to do something original - but I don't think it quite lives up to the hype.
I actually prefer Jordan's "Mona Lisa" to this film. I think that is the better film.

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You're not the only one. I found myself skipping through half of the movie, especially the development of his relationship with Dill. I did like Miranda Richardson's exaggerated acting, though. You weren't supposed to take her seriously.

I thought the beginning of the movie was too slow. It stalled too much. It would've been much more interesting to have the relationship between Fergus & what's his name develop. I felt the ending could've been a great beginning for a sequel.
Dream until your dreams come true.

OP - You aren't the only one
The character development of Stephen Rea's character was the highlight of the movie, but the other aspects of it seems unexciting to me. When the movie ended, I was left thinking that there was potential to be a great movie but it came very short
Worth watching, but temper your expectations
6 / 10

Below average
your name is lebowski, lebowski!; your life is funny

I just watched it for the first time and liked it quite a bit. It doesn't go where you would expect a movie with this first act to go. It's a challenging movie in many ways, almost daring you to like it.
Admittedly the filmmaking is dated and some of the acting isn't up to par, but I found myself pulled into the world Neil Jordan had created almost against my better judgment.
"People either loved us or they hated usor they thought we were okay."

Good points.
I enjoyed the film as it changed from some serious thing about IRA and kidnapping to some kind of weird love story. I knew about the twist from a long long time ago so was kind of watching to see how they pulled it off and if I could fall for the "girl" and would it be believable (not really imho) the twist doesnt really affect the plot at all imho and the reaction to the revelation was almost ho-hum so you're a man. Actually I think the film falters once the 2 IRA members arrive and give Fergus a job to do and seems kind of tacked on. Good film but similar movie M Butterfly handles the same twist far better imho and its actually vital to the ending

I agree. Ineffective and slow.
I don't mean to impose, but I am the Ocean.

No, you're not alone.
There are lots of people with very average intelligence.
Take a course in statistics !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nope. You're not alone. This movie stinks!

it's got a 100% fresh rating at rottentomatoes.com
I hate rotten tomatoes! It would be better if they actually got good, respectable critics. As it stands, metacritic.com is much better.

I disagree. Whitaker was amazing. Maybe the accent want perfect, but did he not make you feel he was someone you would never want the IRA to kill? Didn't you feel the bond he made with Rea's character? The entire movie is dependent on how Whitaker makes the audience feel about his character.

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