| Ordinary Decent Criminal | |
| Director: | Thaddeus O'Sullivan |
| Producer: | Jonathan Cavendish |
| Music: | Damon Albarn |
| Cinematography: | Andrew Dunn |
| Editing: | William M. Anderson |
| Studio: | River Road Entertainment Tat Film Little Bird Trigger Street Productions |
| Distributor: | Icon Film Distribution (Ireland/United Kingdom) Buena Vista Home Entertainment (United States) Icon Entertainment International[1] (International) |
| Runtime: | 93 minutes |
| Country: |
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| Language: | English |
| Budget: | $10 million |
Ordinary Decent Criminal is a 2000 crime comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge, and stars Kevin Spacey and Linda Fiorentino. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crime boss.[3]
Filmed in late 1998 and originally scheduled for a fall 1999 release. Icon shipped out the movie overseas the following year, while Miramax Films acquired North American distribution rights,[4] but it never got a proper theatrical release, and was released straight to video in January 2003, almost five years after filming began.
Michael Lynch is one of Dublin's most notorious criminals. He has two wives, sisters Christine and Lisa, as well as many children. When he is not spending time with his family, he is plotting heists with his gang. His actions make him an iconic figure, and he has a rapport with the general public despite being a criminal.
During his elaborate heists, he concentrates on the showmanship as much as the crime itself. He pulls off a daring art theft, stealing several priceless paintings from Dublin's best art gallery, giving the authorities the slip. The Gardaí become more determined to catch him as time goes on, in particular Noel Quigley, an officer whose ambition to catch Lynch becomes an obsession. His actions also gain the ire of the IRA.
Lynch finds himself in trouble when he is unable to sell a stolen Caravaggio painting, The Taking of Christ, giving Quigley the opportunity he was waiting for to try and catch him. Lynch is forced to go on the run, with his popularity with the public at stake.
Thaddeus O'Sullivan began trying to adapt the book The General by Paul Williams, but abandoned a direct adaption. Having previously worked on Nothing Personal about loyalist paramilitaries, and a biopic about John Gotti for NBC, O'Sullivan did not want to again work under the factual and legal constraints of a film based on real people, and was more interested in making a comedy or caper, and instead they developed their own story only loosely based on Martin Cahill. The original project went back on the market and John Boorman came on board as director. O'Sullivan was worried that investors might think the two projects were too similar, but after Boorman's The General screened at Cannes people saw the films were very different and were willing to invest.[5]
O'Sullivan would have cast more Irish actors except for Boorman's film, and said "If his part had not been so prominent in The General, I would have had Seán McGinley in my film. I'd have him in every film." He felt it was necessary to cast recognizable named stars to stand the best chance of recouping the film's $10 million budget, and was ultimately pleased with what he described as a "dream cast".[6]
Having seen Colin Farrell in a play at London's Donmar Warehouse Theatre, Spacey invited him to appear in one of his films, and convinced director O'Sullivan to cast him.[7]
The film received negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 14% based on reviews from 7 critics.[8]
Christopher Null writing for Filmcritic.com gave it 1.5 out of 5 wrote: "I can only imagine one thing worse than Kevin Spacey trying on an Irish accent, and that's sultry Linda Fiorentino doing the same thing." Though critical of the accents, he says the biggest problem is the dull and less than ordinary script.[9]
Derek Elley of Variety called it "an ordinary, decent movie. Neither an embarrassment nor a triumph, tedious nor gripping". Elley praised the cast but compared it unfavorable with John Boorman's 1998 film The General.[10]
Ordinary Decent Criminal was released on DVD in the United States on 31 January 2003.[11]