Back in 1998, John Boorman directed "The General" with Brendan Gleeson in the lead role. It told the true story of the late Dublin criminal Martin "The General" Cahill who pulled off a number of daring heists, never went out in public without covering his face with either clothing or his hand, had a bizarre menage a trois relationship with his wife and her sister, and was so clever and cunning that the police never managed to press any charges against him.
In Ordinary Decent Criminal, Kevin Spacey plays Michael Lynch, a clever criminal who pulls off daring heists, never goes out in public without covering his face, has a bizarre menage a trois with his wife and her sister... you get the idea. Having seen "The General", it's hard not to compare it to Ordinary Decent Criminal. Even though the film-makers claim that it is based "loosely" around the life of Cahill (who must be chuckling in his grave at his renewed celebrity after death), very large tracts of the film are based on real-life events. It's hard not to get the feeling that half way though filming, the film-makers desperately tried to change the script in order to stop it being a direct remake of Boorman's film.
That's not to say that Ordinary Decent Criminal isn't worth watching. It is. It's a fast paced, stylishly shot, blackly humorous romp. Kevin Spacey does his usual sterling work in the lead role. He makes quite a reasonable attempt at an Irish accent - at times it's spot on, other times it wavers a bit. The less said about the accents of other cast members, the better. Overall, Ordinary Decent Criminal is a well made crime thriller which will suffer inevitable comparisons with "The General".
In Ordinary Decent Criminal, Kevin Spacey plays Michael Lynch, a clever criminal who pulls off daring heists, never goes out in public without covering his face, has a bizarre menage a trois with his wife and her sister... you get the idea. Having seen "The General", it's hard not to compare it to Ordinary Decent Criminal. Even though the film-makers claim that it is based "loosely" around the life of Cahill (who must be chuckling in his grave at his renewed celebrity after death), very large tracts of the film are based on real-life events. It's hard not to get the feeling that half way though filming, the film-makers desperately tried to change the script in order to stop it being a direct remake of Boorman's film.
That's not to say that Ordinary Decent Criminal isn't worth watching. It is. It's a fast paced, stylishly shot, blackly humorous romp. Kevin Spacey does his usual sterling work in the lead role. He makes quite a reasonable attempt at an Irish accent - at times it's spot on, other times it wavers a bit. The less said about the accents of other cast members, the better. Overall, Ordinary Decent Criminal is a well made crime thriller which will suffer inevitable comparisons with "The General".