Nigel O'Neill is a new name to me but he's the quietly impressive heart of this film as a middle aged Irish farmer who's mother is murdered in a house invasion for which he seeks revenge. In a odd couple teaming with a young Polish man who's seeking his sister, abducted and put to work in the sex trade by the same villains responsible for the death of O'Neill's mother, gritty drama and subtle black comedy combine effectively. What's refreshing about this piece is, though the villains are formidable, they are also human and vulnerable as are the heroes of the piece- O'Neill is not presented as a one man army a la Eastwood or Neeson, he gets beaten up, he needs help but crucially he still makes us believe that an aging, slightly overweight man is capable of the actions presented. There is good support from Jozef Pawlowski as O'Neill's faintly hapless sidekick and from Anna Prochniak who is more than just a damsel in distress. Principal among the bad guys are Susan Lynch and Stuart Graham and as O'Neill's uncle, Ian McElhinney, all better known and all turning in fine performances but this film belongs, rightly to O'Neill. Kudos too to director/writer Chris Baugh for this rare 'British' crime thriller set outside of the smoke.
Review of Bad Day for the Cut
