Barber

Deidrie Donnelly hires Private Detective Val Barber to find her missing granddaughter. Barber, an excellent Policeman finds bus progress blocked at every corner, his investigations lead him to covers up and sexual exploitation.

It's a decent film, a good storyline with good actors and some interesting characters. It's a little old fashioned in some ways, it's the kind of thing I could have imagined being out out in 2004, shock gay Detective comes out etc. It's still worth a look however.

Aiden Gillen is excellent as always, he's one of those actors who seems to add a little something, he has a bit of swagger, he's a bit cocky, but he's very talented.

Quinn was a bit of a stereotype, my only gripe I guess, in this day or CCTV and cameras everywhere, I found it hard to imagine an experienced Detective would behave publicly in such a way.

Decent enough.

6/10.

An off kilter private dick story anchored by an authentic and rich central performance and surrounded by a winning support cast. Consistently stylish without affectation, hard working and blessed with an easy sophistication it is staggering to think of its narrative scope and shooting schedule, budget, etc. At times surprisingly densely written the archetypal is suffused with a hurt that convinces and enobles this broken family as they desperately try to not drown in their dysfunction. Connolly at this stage (third feature with the artistic, naturally talented DP Owen McPolin) is now easily one of the most distinctive directors in this country and with each film is growing in maturity yet still retains the sparkle of youth as the image and sound purrs with a primary coloured sensuality. Fiona Bergin, producer of said team, expands her ownership by cowriting this moody meditation on dealing with pain through tenderness, do yourself a favour and catch it on the big screen in April. A class ac.

In Irish crime drama "Barber" Aiden Gillen (likeable as ever as he channels Richard Gere) is a grizzled ex-police private dick who's hired by Diedre Donnelly to track down her missing granddaughter, which leads him into a relatively simple #metoo related case with classic elements like a dodgy politician, corrupt police (Liam Carney) & a powerful bullying stepfather (David Herlihy). Meanwhile Gillen has his own issues to deal with, as society (Dublin's in particular) changes around him. It's sluggish, tv-standard fare but Gillan and its interesting broad subject matter (from writers Fintan Connolly (who also directed) & Fiona Bergin) make it passable enough.

The film feels like a car collision. There is the noir feeling of it, the grizzled ex-cop private eye, the Irish accent, the dark pool of Dublin streets and police corruption. And then there is the gay cop/husband/father drama, the #metoo story of underage girls masturbated at, the young daughter disabled by a motorcycle accident, the rigorous mask wearing. The thing is, this could have worked, but instead it felt like two discordant notes clashing. And the worst part of it all is the ending, the ridiculous "twist", if one can call it that, of which I don't want to talk for fear of spoiling the chance that you would enjoy it, but which kind of invalidates any good will one might have had toward the victims or any measure of competence you would have assigned to the main character.

I like Aidan Gillen, not just as Littlefinger, because I've seen him in a lot of things, doing good work, so that elevated the film a little. But without his charisma, this is a weird film to be watching, it feels like a whiny generation production where people go to the police for seeing a schlong and bullies are fighting back by slapping people and talking badly about gay rights. It was like a noir policier movie for kindergarten kids. The tension was there, but it just felt totally weird and delusional, like written by a teen on a phone.

Bottom line: a social justice agenda driven film that somehow didn't feel offensive, just endearing, like watching a little dog trying to trick you he didn't bite your shoes. Had potential, it went nowhere.

A very enjoyable detective film. Nice transitions. A good amount of content in a 90 minute movie. Love, family, tragedy, comedy, social politics, etc. Are touched upon. With some good ol' guilt to boot. Some very nice cinematic moments as we see the night views of Dublin. It has some noir to it. A bit of a whodunit. I cherish B-movies at times due to the wide net of appeal, bulging budgets, and cliché storytelling of AAA titles. On most occasions, this style of movie is more in-line of film as art. Great acting by the lead. The rest are good enough. Story could be more playful to the whodunit element but works. Maybe it is too much content with the multiple storylines for the length but, the length is refreshing. Easy to digest. I rated against the totality of films I have seen and rated from City Lights to The Deer Hunter to Anchorman. Maybe it's a 7. Watch it if you like mystery, detective, thriller, suspense, noir. I would like to see at least a sequel. Perhaps a trilogy. After all, character's with their name in the title often get sequels these days.