Intermission

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

A breed apart from anything coming off the Hollywood assembly line or, for that matter, from the saccharine romances Britain has lately produced.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The first Irish creation I've seen in ages to pull off the high-difficulty feat of trafficking in grit, drollery, and emotion without turning to blarney as a crutch.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

So full of pep you can't help surrendering to its creative energy.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

That it succeeds is some kind of miracle; there's enough material here for three bad films, and somehow it becomes one good one.

The New Yorker Anthony Lane

John Crowley’s film is high on its own briskness, and its glances at Irish backstreet life land it securely in the terrain that was mapped out by Stephen Frears’s “The Snapper” and “The Van.” [5 April 2004, p. 89]

Dallas Observer Gregory Weinkauf

Stupid camera shenanigans aside, theater veteran Crowley deftly directs his large, stellar cast, and playwright-cum-screenwriter Mark O'Rowe serves up a wild knot of character arcs pitched somewhere among the neighborhoods of Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Danny Boyle.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Irish playwright Mark O'Rowe, who wrote the script, has an admirable sense of dramatic proportion that suits his intertwining stories; theater director John Crowley, making his film debut, has a sure hand with his actors; and an excellent cast enlivens this web of romantic and criminal intrigue, set in a gray suburb of Dublin. R.

Washington Post Michael O'Sullivan

Very, very funny, thanks to a lively first script by Mark O'Rowe, who has a good ear for earthy dialogue and a sense of life's absurd little synchronicities.

The New York Times A.O. Scott

Altogether compelling.

Premiere Glenn Kenny

It’s tempting to summarize this Irish picture as a working-class version of "Love Actually," and indeed, the hardscrabble lives of most of its amorously unfulfilled characters go a long way in making it a whole lot less emetic than Richard Curtis’s hugfest.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Could fairly be described as a Robert Altman ensemble movie without the flab, or "Magnolia" with a mean streak and bigger laughs.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

If Intermission isn't profound, it's got boisterous humor and energy, with U2's rollicking "Out of Control" leading the charge. Given the grimness of many Irish tales, Intermission represents less of a pause than a burst into a fresh direction.

Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman

Intermission is like a creme brulee, invigoratingly grainy when you bite into it but sweet and soft underneath. Director John Crowley and writer Mark O'Rowe infuse this Irish crime drama with such adrenaline that you don't realize how lightweight it is until after it's over.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Here, love and violence are random, everyone's a fool for love, and tomfoolery often has a shocking twist. And every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

The film's uniformly excellent performances are a delight, and fans of Irish actor Farrell (whose pitch-perfect American accent has served him well in Hollywood) can hear both his natural inflections and his singing voice.

Variety Derek Elley

Borderline grungy but highly entertaining comedy-drama.

Portland Oregonian Karen Karbo

A sort of low-down, dirty-faced Irish cousin of "Love Actually," the glossy smarm replaced by a jittery raunchiness.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

"Love, Actually" meets "Trainspotting" in Intermission, an edgy Irish romantic comedy that deftly juggles a dozen interconnected story lines.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

It's surprising that so much material, so many moods, and such an interesting cast end up making such a small, unmemorable splash.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Like many stylish, whipcrack American and British indies made in the wake of Quentin Tarantino and "Trainspotting," the film gets off on the same anything-can-happen storytelling brio, which at least keeps things lively. But without any resonant characters or ideas, it's all empty calories.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

Beyond that surface grit, Intermission is still a fairly saccharine collage of self-redemptive gestures and happy endings that, true to its title, only fitfully compels.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A black comedy that some viewers may take as an assault. The disconnect between the realism of its violence and the near-slapstick tone of some of its comedy is too much to be framed within one movie.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Stephen Cole

It's a bright, busy imitation of independent moviemaking. But it's hardly an independent film. Hopefully, next time out, director Crowley, a promising storyteller, will find his own story to tell.

Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones

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.

Village Voice Jessica Winter

Like a loud and intermittently charismatic drunk at a dreary dive bar, Intermission grabs your attention, but in no time you're looking for the nearest exit.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

Turns out to be a tedious and under-inspired comedy.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Unfortunately, this latest effort is so mean-spirited and nasty that you wish Farrell hadn't bothered.