‘The Irish Connection’ Review

Stars: Rosa Coduri, Paul O’Doherty, Jack Bence, Flora Spencer-Longhurst, Matt Healy, Shane Robinson | Written and Directed by Danny Patrick

Sometimes I will sit down to watch a movie based solely on the fact that on paper it has checked some of my boxes! While that list does seem to be getting longer by the movie I still can’t help having to satisfy my British low-budget itch. Let me tell you though, I get even more excited when I see we are dealing with an Irish crime caper set partially in Malta.

Broken bones, stolen Bearer bonds, pregnant mobsters, super spy’s, dodgy priests (careful) and a pair of comedic gangland clowns… Kind of sounds like the title of Guy Ritchie’s autobiography. However… that… it is not, for you see dear reader today we are talking about Danny Patrick’s movie The Irish Connection.

When a man known only as The Priest manages to steal some high-value bearer bonds, up-the-duff gangster Alice (Flora Spencer-Longhurst) wants them back pronto. Alices’s brother Rory Baker and her wet blanket husband Casper (Matt Healy) are off to Malta to try and retrieve them in a race against time so that Casper can be present at the birth of his child. The thief’s hapless duo of relatives, father Danny and brother Jay also end up getting in deep when they find themselves in Malta and realise that the gangsters have come for them and the bonds. Luckily though special agent Aureille is on hand to protect the boys, take down the baddies and retrieve the bonds.

So basically a cast of random characters from Derry head to Malta in search of stolen bearer bonds and all their stories will interconnect along the way. Get it? Got it? Good, let’s move on!!

The Irish Connection is a little bit of a mixed bag for me if I’m honest because I was uncertain what bracket it fell into. On one hand, I felt like I was watching a gangster parody flick akin to the criminally (pun intended) underrated 1998 Lloyd Bridges classic Mafia! Then there were moments when it felt like this movie wanted to be the next Reservoir Dogs. I’m not saying this to put the flick down not at all it just made the first half-hour a little bit of a trip. Once you settle into the fact you’re watching a slightly scaled-down Love, Honour and Obey with some loftier jet-setting aspirations, well I think you will really vibe with it and that’s where I landed.

Writer/Director Danny Patrick does a great job of pulling us into the beautiful side of Ireland and Malta with some expertly crafted establishing aerial shots before dropping us into a somewhat darker gangland. Where we are thrown right into the action and it rarely stops to take a breath unless it’s for a moment of much-needed levity. That for me is where this movie shines, Patrick has a keen sense of knowing when a scene has played out. While I don’t think this film is perfect there is a very good movie in here with some solid performances.

Now, about those… Let’s start with Rosa Coduri as our super spy Aurielle. Rosa is doing the bulk of the heavy lifting here with a solid performance that manages to stand out from the crowd and make a believable arc in a somewhat silly scenario. This is not to take anything away from anyone else because a lot of the supporters help to elevate the role. Most notably our resident dynamic duo of Danny (Paul O’Doherty) and Jay (Jack Bence). These guys are the comic relief of the movie and hold that role perfect. I personally think you can’t fake the kind of chemistry these two have on screen and every time they enter the scene you can’t help but smile.

Now I do have a negative here but it’s not a massive thing. While I really enjoyed the dialogue, there is a lot of lifting from some of your favourites. This is a fun gimmick at the start of the flick and really hooks you (well it did me as a film geek nerd) HOWEVER… the Rory Baker character (played by Shane Robinson) only seems to talk in movie quotes. This isn’t a new thing for sure and everyone loves some pop culture references but when I’m spending more time trying to name the movie he just quoted than I am enjoying the flick, well I have to wonder. I will say though that Shane Robinson commits to it and in a lot of cases makes it work for the movie which is why it’s not a huge criticism it’s just something I thought worth a mention.

I really dug The Irish Connection and can see that Danny Patrick as a director is absolutely someone to be keeping an eye on. Visually he knows what works and makes both Ireland and Malta look their best. Casting wise he has pulled a blinder, while I might not love everything everyone is doing I can still see that they are doing it well. I look forward to checking out future projects from both the director and the leading cast. I sense possibly a sequel in the works and you know what? I’m down for that should it ever come to be. Just maybe leave out the word-for-word rip of the Per Diem scene.

***½  3.5/5

Please do check The Irish Connection out, I think the film is well worth your time and if you’re into some Lock Stock with a bit Johnny Fav’s Made and a sprinkling of great brit comedy well you’re in for a good night.