As Good As It Gets

A Masterpiece!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Perrier's Bounty is a quirky dark Irish crime comedy but it is also a misfire as you get a feeling of having seen it all before. It wants to be In Bruges, it even has Brendan Gleeson in it but is nowhere as good.Cillian Murphy plays a young waster Michael McCrea who is in debt of 1000 Euros to loan shark Perrier (Brendan Gleeson.) Michael's dying dad (Jim Broadbent) turns up to make his life awkward and his dizzy, suicidal in the neighbouring flat (Jodie Whittaker) accidentally kills one of Perrier's debt collectors.Now they all find themselves on the run from Perrier but maybe some other goons with vicious dogs might inadvertently come to Michael's rescue.Despite the wacky set up the characters are rather two dimensional even with the added eccentricities they are given.

Casting and the dynamic between characters can make a movie flop or fly. Perrier's Bounty is smart and funny, though not shatteringly original; many comparisons have been made with the dark and distinctly Irish humour of In Bruges. Inept and slightly rubbish protagonist finds himself, through a perfect demonstration of his ineptitude and rubbishness, pitted against roundly awful rotters and thugs, and beset from all sides by pain and inconvenience, while a funny script and a generous splash of eccentricity and heartwarming romance with a girl way out of our dopey hero's league keep you hoping for a happy ending, however undeserved. This is also, broadly, the setup of True Romance. People like to tell the same stories repeatedly, just like they like to read and watch them over and over again. Not because we expect it to turn out differently; just because we like how some stories feel.Here's Brendon Gleeson back again in an wholly different role to his In Bruges turn, joyous as as solidly horrible gangster Perrier; unkind to animals, worse to people. Cillian Murphy has said before he likes playing characters who are under pressure, and is, as ever, excellent as the ordinary, unlucky bloke by turns incredulous and incandescently cheesed off with the hand life keeps dealing him. And Jim Broadbent - in the wake of Peter O'Toole (may all the gods rest his venerable soul), does anyone mix matter-of-fact and completely barmy better?We know the core actors are great at what they do, and they carry the film along reliably.What's great about this movie is the detail, the gleaming dialogue, and the real story at the heart of this; the father and son, estranged and reunited in ludicrous circumstances, and the family ties slowly revealed to us. Broadbent and Murphy are perfect together, the exasperation of the son pitched brilliantly against the patience and downright bizarreness of the father. Hurrah also for the supporting turn from Brendan Coyle, who's always a joy to watch.Perrier's Bounty isn't a new tale; but it's lyrical, funny, dark, human and absolutely charming.

I thought it was an outstanding little film; not a loose end left, lots of karma. The acting was unbelievably good, with Jim Broadbent, Cillian Murphy, Jodie Whitaker and Brendan Gleeson, joined by a throng of wonderful cutthroats, henchmen and great dog trainers. I cannot fathom why people wouldn't like the movie, its very intriguing use of language and its well drawn characters. The voice over by the Reaper was also well done, and had a highly literary feel.It had enough texture to give a feel for the impoverished underlife of Dubliners.

Rented this on a recommendation from the video store owner, who like myself, is into just about every genre. We certainly don't shy away from foreign films, and this gangster/father-son story looked to be right up my alley.Like I mentioned in the title - there is quite a bit of humor here that can be hard to pick up because of its' dry nature, and because of the thick accents. It can really make the difference between this being a completely average film, and this being a truly enjoyable, albeit lesser-known, humorous, and darkly adventurous tale.The cast is strong and the story moves at a brisk pace. It's in the storyline vein of Tarantino or Ritchie, but lacks a bit of the panache of those directors' work.Perrier's Bounty has good performances throughout, and there is little doubt that those fans of the afore mentioned directors will find this to be an exciting film. It's rated R for brief nudity, drug use, and violence.The only stand-out negative would be the music. The music selections were great, but the volume of the music was WAY too loud compared to the dialog and the rest of the movie. Maybe the music director was a bit too proud of his/her selections. I had to turn the TV down every time a song came on, and then turn it back up when the dialog resumed. The only other negative would be a slightly rushed and under-developed love story that could have really put this over-the-top.Recommended. THose who liked pulp fiction and lock stock will find this to be a good(not great) film along the same lines. LIsten carefully as many of the hilarious lines can pass you by. The strongest characteristic of this film is the relationship between Cillian Murphy and the actor(who's name escapes me as I'm writing this) who plays Cillian's father. Also, having two fantastic actors playing in the two lead Gangster roles helps immensely.71/100You'll like it if you liked: Layer Cake, State of Grace, or Harry Brown.