Perrier’s Bounty (2010)

Director Ian Fitzgibbon

Michael McCrea has had a really bad night. He owes a pretty sum of cash to Dublin gangster Darren Perrier, who just sent two of his cronies to collect. Unfortunately, Michael is dead broke. Desperate to get Perrier’s money, he ends up performing a late night burglary with two unsavory characters from the local pool hall. The following morning Perrier’s cronies return, only this time one of them accidentally ends up dead, courtesy of his recently “dumped” and suicidal best friend Brenda. Further complicating matters is the arrival of Michael’s estranged father Jim (Jim Broadbent in a hilariously daft performance), who reveals he will die if he falls asleep, which necessitates him regularly consuming spoonfuls of coffee grounds to stay awake. Now with a bounty on their heads, Michael, Brenda, and Jim have 24 hours to get Perrier’s money while evading the police and every low-life in the Dublin underworld. Director Ian FitzGibbon adroitly blends gritty suspense with Guinness-black comedy to create a snappy, wisecracking crime-caper in the tradition of Layer Cake and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. - Seattle International Film Festival 2010