The Tiger's Tail

I was an extra on this movie, in the Awards Dinner scene near the beginning, and I looked forward to the finished product with some trepidation because the dialog seemed quite poor. However, i have been pleasantly surprised. This is a good movie, and maybe I'm stupid but I didn't see the ending coming; It thought it was a very good resolution, and I don't understand why one reviewer says it leaves numerous threads hanging. I thought all of the production values the music and everything were very good. My criticisms would be the same for most Irish movies; the relatively poor acting of the more junior actors (I refer in particular to the drunken girlfriend we first encounter in the Temple Bar nightclub. There were other weaknesses, things that could have been much better handled such as the first appearance of the doplleganger, and O'Leary getting coshed in the toilets (again, bad acting by the other actors there). Some things were just stupid, like the statement that the more houses O'Leary builds the more homeless there are; Boorman should stick to the directing and leave the economics to others. Kim shouldn't have attempted the Oirish (sic) accent. It would have been quite believable for O'Leary to have married an American, and better, even.

It gives a reasonably good insight into middle-class Ireland, and a glimpse of the world of the down-and-out (which is the same everywhere, I suppose). I stayed until the very end of the credits.

This film begins with a wealthy architect named "Liam O'Leary" (Brendan Gleeson) having some financial difficulties concerning a speculative purchase on some land he has recently financed. In addition to that, he is also having some martial problems with his wife "Jane O'Leary" (Kim Cattrall). So, things aren't going as smoothly as he would like. It's during this time of stress that he begins to have what his friends consider to be hallucinations when he tells them that a man who looks exactly like him keeps appearing at irregular moments. To make matters even worse, he becomes convinced that this man intends on harming him for unknown reasons as well. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that, although this film is billed as a comedy, I really didn't see much humor in it as it was more of a mystery-drama than anything else. In essence, this was a rather peculiar film which had some dull scenes here and there yet still managed to keep my attention for the most part, and for that reason, I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This new film is very peculiar. PURPORTING to be about the Celtic Tiger and modern Ireland, it is curiously insipid. Despite setting out to be satirical, it falls flat. Hard to pin down exactly why, but probably due to laziness on the the filmmakers behalf. Why isn't he making satirical films about London? Brendan Gleeson is okay, but the two characters he plays stretch the imagination. Catrall isn't really credible as an Irish woman and some of her lines are hard to listen to. The camera-work is surprisingly dull, as some of his previous films have looked great, and doesn't make anyone look good. That said you should check it out, if only cos he is the same filmmaker who made Point Blank and Deliverance, and its a paradox to see how far off these classics he has drifted.

I go to Theatre and Cinema to be entertained. This film did it for me. A good story, good acting, well shot scenery... what more do I require? There is no hard and fast way of speaking, if you live in Dublin. Therefore , we must remember there are no rules... So we cannot break them. Bad accents and diction can be heard every day from people who use their voice. Take our Radio and Television front men and women, who frequently refer to 'Fillums - Tremenjus- and excepted, instead of accepted.... Do we hang them out to dry? So what if an American Actor didn't quite get it right. Did she not convince us that she was a wronged wife in a bad marriage? Did Gleason not come across as a man with many problems, who was in fear of ruining himself? Did John Kavanagh,Sinead Cusack, Sean McGinley and many other good actors not grasp the role and present it as such.? I liked it... well done John, Cast and all concerned.

I'm not sure whether this movie was good or not, but I kind of liked it. It was peculiar, but in a good way (not like Solondz's Wiener-Dog I saw recently).

The "Celtic Tiger" part was of no relevance to me - I wouldn't know whether it portrayed 2006 Ireland accurately or not; I was viewing this movie as a regular stalker flick, and, as such, it was quite engaging.

The acting was good, especially by the lead male. Kim Cattrall's role was not a major one, so her accent didn't bother me, especially since everyone in the movie had sort of a "neutral" accent. Having been to Ireland, I can say that none of the people in the movie sounded like the natives I met on my trip to Ireland.

The set-up was very good and engaging, but the movie declined significantly upon the doubles's entering the protagonist's house. There is no way something like this would happen in real life. It was just not believable. I was also sort of offended by the way they chose to portray the wife - as though they were trying to say that women are generally dumb and shallow, and the only thing they care about is for a man to pay attention to them. This is inaccurate and there is no way a wife would mistake a stranger for her husband of many years. Perhaps they were meant to imply that Jane knew all along that it was the double (if so, I must have missed it), in which case, perhaps, I would have seen it differently.

The ending was also kind of weird, but very original and somewhat satisfying and thought-provoking.

All in all, an enjoyable movie, and definitely superior to many a stalker flick I've seen lately. Would recommend.