I'll say that it's taken too long for me to get around to reviewing this film, and in fact it feels somewhat irrelevant at this point given how long it's been in theaters. Still, I felt suddenly compelled to give whatever thoughts I had on this particular film before the opportunity is gone altogether. I saw this film at the impetus of my planning towards studying away for next year, and at that time I was considering Galway, Ireland. Of course I don't expect Galway to be nearly as corrupt a drug and sex ring as depicted by the film, and somehow that lessened my interest in going there.
The film starts out in a rather strange way, with car full of reckless young boys are seen speeding across the countryside, blasting abrasive music, and I started wondering if I was in the right film. Then, of course, they speed past a police car, and crash shortly afterwords. Out comes Brendan Gleeson's Sergeant Gerry Boyle, examining their bodies, picking their pockets, and then getting on with his routine. He's clearly lacking any righteous motivations typical of the job, and there's the idea that this isn't going to be quite a cheery affair.
