Just what I expected

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Yo, there's no way for me to review this film without saying, take your *insert ethnicity + "ass" here* to see this film,like now. You have to see it in order to know what you're really messing with.

Richard is an affable Irish senior, on the brink of the rest of his life. He finds love, has good friends, loving parents. It's all rainbows and butterflies - until a surprising accident throws his entire future off course. Or so we think? I think the problem with this film isn't that it's badly made, it's just that it didn't exactly NEED to be made. This story has been told before, in better (even more illustrative ways). I kept expecting the rug to be pulled from under many a few times during it but I was never surprised, just continually disappointed. And quite frankly - bored. Furthermore--and this is something that struck me as odd and disappointing--I remember seeing quite a similar film (in terms of plot and imagery) called 'Paranoid Park'. It came out in 2007, and was directed by (you guessed it?) - Gus Van Sant. It was a little ball of atmosphere, full of subtle beautiful music and ambient colours. Sparse dialogue, too, but it had a slow startling impact on me, near the end. Still, it wasn't exemplary or particularly memorable. 'What Richard Did' follows the exact cookie-cutter formula (as niche as that sounds)- to an even more underwhelming effect. I doubt I'll remember it a week from now. The dialogue was stilted (more unrealistic than realistic, ironically), the characters were neither sympathetic or unsympathetic. They were just.. blank. I didn't really care what happened to any of them by the end, and guess what - not much did. I'd say if you love laboriously prolonged scenes and the odd scenic take, watch this. Else - you're wasting your time.2/10

A mostly excellent Irish film about a double murderer (one gerbil, one human) and the effect that seemingly small acts can have in the immediate and long term.The Richard of the title is an 18yr old lad from a good family living in an idyllic portrait of youth: beach parties, disposable income, good looks, popularity, mobility and a bright looking future.One night, he attends a party where alcohol blurs perception and emotions run high, leading to an (unintentionally) fatal confrontation. The remainder of the film is an exploration of how Richard deals with the repercussions of his actions and highlights the burden of guilt he carries.The acting, by the whole cast, is superb, and elevates what could be a mundane film into the realms of a highly recommended one.Originally posted at: http://filmplop.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/050213- what-richard-did-2012.html

This movie is set In Ireland but is not a particularly 'Irish' film - the underlying theme is universal (the eternal triangle) and it could have been set almost anywhere. There is some reasonable acting and occasional sequences of lush camera-work, but the film is let down by a weak plot, dull script and ponderous pace.Richard is a well-off teenager who swears and drinks a lot. He is popular among his peers for his looks, self-confidence and access to his parents' beach house. He takes up with the girlfriend of one of his pals and they have sex. Later at a party the two lads get into a fight over the girl and a drunken Richard hits him once too often, taking the lad's life. In collusion with his father, he runs away and hides until he realises that his guilt is too much to bear and that he must give himself up to the police. Returning home to hand himself in, he resumes his studies and finds another girl for perfunctory sex. Whereupon he appears to have forgotten about confessing after all . . . and the credits roll.The movie starts very slowly with lengthy and tedious scenes of Richard and his mates chilling out together, real enough but reality and drama make uneasy bedfellows. Nothing really happens until Richard gets into the fight, but even then there is little to make us like him enough to care what fate befalls him thereafter. He has committed manslaughter and he knows it so his decision to lie and hide just makes him look a coward. So when he 'breaks down' - an embarrassing scene in which he does a lot of screeching and breast-beating - it is hard to have much sympathy. It's not as if he's murdered anyone and faces life imprisonment or worse. A good lawyer would help . . . but these and other practicalities are never considered by him nor his father and (barely seen) mother. Having decided to do 'the right thing', Richard then appears to abandon his intent and return to a life of self-indulgence. Perplexing!So the story is more about what Richard did not do than what he did. Perhaps his parents should have told him a lot earlier to grow up and get a life!Unfortunately, it's hard to recommend this movie.(Viewed at The Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK, 31.01.13)

This movie is a slow moving drama that puts its "hero" in a horrific moral dilemma of his own making and examines his actions. I found it impossible not to wonder what I would do if I was in a similar position, which I presume is what the director wanted.The main character, Richard, seems to have it all. He is a young man from a privileged Dublin background who has just finished secondary school. He was captain of the school rugby team and is universally liked by everyone. He seems set for an enjoyable summer before he starts university. At a party he meets the girlfriend of a teammate. He "fancies" her and after a while they start going out.At a later party Richard and the ex-boyfriend exchange harsh words and things soon get out of hand and the ex-boyfriend dies. The authorities don't know who is responsible. Richard has to decide what he will do. We watch him wrestle with the dilemma of giving up his rosy future by admitting the truth or doing nothing and hoping it will all fade away.There are great performances all round from the cast, especially Jack Reynor in the lead role. Lenny Abrahamson is one of the great Irish directors with movies such as "Garage" and "Adam and Paul" and this movie is up to that high standard.