The Irish Connection

A Priest steals bearer bonds from Alice Baker and her gang and goes on run to Malta pursued by them and a cocky super-agent Aureille (a wonderful engaging Rosa Coduri) is assigned to stop them all. In the spy-saturated genres, this comedy addition to the genre would seem an unlikely stand-out, and yet it is very well made. Perhaps its cool style, tongue-in-cheek sense of intrigue, and mix of adventure and satire makes it more interesting than it has any right to. Satirizing a genre already so steeped in self-reverence, the all too familiar ending feels too obvious. Coduri is focused and wiry, but I always liked her more as a wannabe villain like in Adulthood; she's so ironed-out here of any kind of personal complication that the first few scenes give you all she's got. Dave Healy, as chief thug, has a few funny moments as a man intimidated by his pregnant wife, but otherwise a well made funny 90 minutes..

Bearer bonds have been stolen by a Priest no less and Danny and Jay are hunting them down. Aureille Flemming (Rosa Coduri) a secret agent is stuck doing what she hates the most, beating clues out of bad guys. Her boss Miranda still pines for her after their break up and is making her field work difficult. Alice is an unconventional crime boss and has tasked Danny & Jay to hand over the Priest with the bearer bonds.

I love the style. I love the comedy. I love Rosa Coduri's cool demeanor. I also love the first two thirds of the movie. The last act is questionable and a bit too by the numbers and convenient. There isn't enough tension and needs some more action. Also I'm not sure why the Priest double crossed the real bad guys. It feels different from the first parts of the movie.

I enjoyed this. It had been one of those movies I had heard about from the festivals but had never gotten around to.

There are times when it seems that Rosa Coduri is such a cold fish (ala Adulthood), that one has trouble getting connected to her. In this film she is really believable as a woman who has all the training of a killing machine, but a soft side that bears exploring. The character is put into situations she can't understand but can only react to. She has compassion but little understanding. What an interesting role. If there's a shortcoming, it's that the motivations of the bad folks aren't all that clear. It's still a delight to watch her relationship with Jay develop. There is a level of subtlety that most films of this type don't have. The car chases are not spectacular but, for once, funny and with pathos. I appreciated this.

OK, in retrospective, we should all know that espionage movies are all about cool dudes battling evil, and attracting hot partners in the process (though the latter often overshadowed the former, as Austin Powers showed). "The Irish Connection" is no exception. I will say that Agent Aureille (Rosa Conduri) isn't exactly Jason Bourne, but she has her merits. The movie mostly seems like an excuse to experience that ultra-cool feeling that always emanated from the spy movies of the '60s, and they achieve that.

So, even if it isn't Bourne, it's still very enjoyable. Also starring Matt Healy...and a bunch of clowns.

The four most important spies are James Bond, Jason Bourne, Harry Tasker and Natasha Romanov.

This spy farce is about a Priest who steals bearer bonds from some other bad guys and goes on the lamb to Malta. The problem is, he has absolutely no idea what he is doing and is in way over his head because he is NOT a trained thief and not the real mastermind behind this plot.

Both the bad guys, a secret agent and his own family are on his tail, so how do you think he should deal with this dilemma? Of course, make up that you really are a priest. The problem is, he is too good at it and the lies take on a life of their own! This comedy is a bit silly at times and unbelievable compared to some, but it is still an excellent film. Don't be put off by mediocre reviews that came out since its release--it's well worth your time.