Critics reviews

Not everything in Intermission makes sense. It’s a scrappy, scrambled affair... There are too many characters, too many sub-plots, too much messing about. It shouldn’t work, basically - and yet, you’ll struggle to find a funnier, snappier feature from Celtic Tiger-era Ireland.

A sharp and scruffy movie, shot on the cheap in Dublin... The dialogue is a good clean blast of filth, and the cast has the joshing coherence of a sports team.

From its gobsmacking opening to the bravura climax, [Intermission] has a verve, energy and surprise that knocks you sideways... this Dublin film about love offers the excitement of a thriller and more laughs than most comedies... Intermission kicks with sharp comic detail, great gab and top notch character acting.

In manipulating its many disparate characters to bump into each other and set plot lines in motion, Intermission walks a fine line between clever and contrived, with the scale tipping more often toward contrived... But despite the many appealing actors in Crowley’s arsenal, Intermission fails to connect emotionally.

That [InterMission] succeeds is some kind of miracle; there’s enough material here for three bad films, and somehow it becomes one good one... “Intermission” is a virtuoso act from beginning to end, juggling violence and farce, coincidence and luck, characters with good hearts and others evil to the core.

Dry-roasted and altogether compelling... The jaunty and shameless surges of comedy from Mr. O'Rowe prodded by Mr. Crowley -- often cruel and angry -- as well as the sheer cantankerousness of the actors provides a force that keeps this lively knockabout project from surrendering to the gravitational pull trying to snatch it down.

[InterMission] has some rough edges, but moves briskly, [and] is very funny.

Even bright performers like Kelly Macdonald and Shirley Henderson can't help this boorish and conceited ensemble comedy set in the Dublin suburbs... Everything has that sub-Trainspotting film-school-project feel, though first-time director John Crowley keeps things moving smartly enough.

John Crowley and Mark O'Rowe have created an occasionally uneven but largely enjoyable movie, full of odd interludes and dark-as-porter humour. It may not be as sharp or as funny as it thinks it is but, nevertheless, 'Intermission' is an Irish film well worth watching.

An extremely impressive debut... [and a] borderline grungy but highly entertaining comedy-drama... [InterMission] stands out for the clarity of its characters, all of whom are introduced and developed without making the audience work overtime, and the Swiss-clock precision of its script, in which passing early details later assume significance.

Intermission is one of the best scripted (Mark O'Rowe) comedies to emerge from Irish soil in a while... The plot makes twists and turns like a snake writhing in the desert. To tell would be to spoil, but suffice to say, writer, director and cast have colluded brilliantly.

Gritty and witty, this modest Irish drama has its roguish charms despite some questionable casting.