Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000)

Brilliant, flamboyant master criminal Michael Lynch is more interested in his image and his posterity than the actual profit from his ill-gotten gains.

Director:

Thaddeus O'Sullivan

Writer:

Gerard Stembridge

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Linda Fiorentino, Peter Mullan

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kevin Spacey	...	Michael Lynch
Linda Fiorentino	...	Christine Lynch
Peter Mullan	...	Stevie
Stephen Dillane	...	Noel Quigley
Helen Baxendale	...	Lisa
David Hayman	...	Tony Brady
Patrick Malahide	...	Commissioner Daly
Gerard McSorley	...	Harrison
David Kelly	...	Fr. Grogan
Gary Lydon	...	Tom Rooney
Paul Ronan	...	Billy Lynch
Colin Farrell	...	Alec (as Colin Farrel)
Vincent Regan	...	Shay Kirby
Tim Loane	...	Jerome Higgins
Christoph Waltz	...	Peter

Storyline

Michael Lynch is Dublin's most notorious criminal, his brazen robberies making him the bane of the Gardaí and a hero to his fellow working class city Northsiders. When not playing happy families with his two wives - sisters Christine and Lisa - and his children, Lynch is busy plotting elaborate heists, thinking as much about the showmanship of it all as he is the loot involved. On his case is Garda Noel Quigley, his determination to convict Lynch slowly turning into an obsession. Inevitably, a showdown looms.

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Plot Keywords:

gold bar | coercion | reference to judas | gangster | trial | 

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Taglines:

Michael just loves taking the law into his own hands!

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Genres:

Crime | Comedy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Pyramide Films (France)

Country:

UK Germany Ireland USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 January 2000 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Dieb

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£80,444 (UK) (17 March 2000)

Gross:

£80,444 (UK) (17 March 2000)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bórd Scannán na hÉireann, Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Icon Entertainment International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 85 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Colin Farrell and Vincent Regan later acted together in Alexander.

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Goofs

This movie was set around 1991-3. However, visible in a number of places are both Fiat Punto cars and CitySwift buses. These were not introduced until 1994 and 1995 respectively. In the bank raid scene, the notes which are stolen are Series III Irish banknotes. These notes were not fully introduced until 1996, and the £20 notes shown in the raid were not even partially introduced at the time the movie was set

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Quotes

Noel Quigley: [after shooting up the Caravaggio painting to get the criminals] Fuck art!

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Connections

References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932)

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Soundtracks

"The Story of Munster"
Traditional
Arranged by Arty McGlynn
Used by kind permission of Emerald Music
Performed by Arty McGlynn

User Reviews

Kevin with Sopranos in Dublin

On the wings of the Sopranos era concept 'crime is a business as any other', here comes the Irish version. The problem is that it lies entirely on the shoulders of Oscar-touched Kevin Stacey. It tries to be a very Irish film, with human and enjoyable gangsters, the cops are the villain, and the victims never really show up. The charm relies entirely on Kevin Stacey's performance, though some other good acting can be seen around - for example Linda Fiorentino who gets too little screen time, in my opinion, and some other supporting actors who must be Irish or British because they are both good, as well as fresh faces. However, acting only cannot save the movie, it is after all easy to forget, and certainly cannot provide the answer to the key question - can ordinary decent criminals really be ordinary decent humans?