DVD Movie Rating for: Ordinary Decent Criminal

3 out of 5

Movie Plot of: Ordinary Decent Criminal

Michael Lynch is Dublin's most notorious criminal, his brazen robberies making him the bane of the Gardaí and a hero to his fellow working class city Northsiders. When not playing happy families with his two wives - sisters Christine and Lisa - and his children, Lynch is busy plotting elaborate heists, thinking as much about the showmanship of it all as he is the loot involved. On his case is Garda Noel Quigley, his determination to convict Lynch slowly turning into an obsession. Inevitably, a showdown looms.

DVD Production Details of: Ordinary Decent Criminal

Director: Thaddeus O'Sullivan

Format: Color, Closed-captioned

Studio: Miramax Home Entertainment

DVD Release Date: January 21, 2003
DVD Features:
Widescreen anamorphic format

Cast of the movie: Ordinary Decent Criminal

• Kevin Spacey .... Michael Lynch
• Linda Fiorentino .... Christine Lynch
• Peter Mullan .... Stevie
• Stephen Dillane .... Noel Quigley
• Helen Baxendale .... Lisa
• David Hayman .... Tony Brady
• Patrick Malahide .... Commissioner Daly
• Gerard McSorley .... Harrison
• David Kelly .... Fr. Grogan
• Gary Lydon .... Tom Rooney
• Paul Ronan .... Billy Lynch
• Colin Farrell .... Alec (as Colin Farrel)
• Vincent Regan .... Shay Kirby
• Tim Loane .... Jerome Higgins
• Christoph Waltz .... Peter

Photo Gallery of the movie: Ordinary Decent Criminal

Ordinary Decent Criminal

Reviews of the movie: Ordinary Decent Criminal

To the disappointment of Kevin Spacey fans, Miramax never released Ordinary Decent Criminal in the U.S. That has more to do with backstage negotiations than with the quality of this amusing Irish crime caper, which was overshadowed by John Boorman's similar and superior film The General. Both were inspired by the exploits of infamous Irish gangster Martin Cahill, fictionalized here as Michael Lynch (Spacey, with a passable brogue), an elusive bank robber who prides himself on family values and clever escapes. His latest brazen scheme involves the theft of a priceless Caravaggio painting, but director Thaddeus O'Sullivan (who made the underrated Nothing Personal) is more interested in quirky character study than criminal behavior, giving the film its jaunty, uneven mix of humor, drama, and violence. The casting of Spacey and Linda Fiorentino (as Lynch's supportive wife) is an awkward concession to international box office, but the movie's Irish flavor--including a pre-stardom role for Colin Farrell--is enough to keep its cagey spirits high

Good choice for Sunday afternoon video once it comes out of the cinemas. Spacey plays a likeable "decent" Irish criminal hoodwinking the police and getting away with it for quite a while. Amusingly told but nothing special. A fun movie but not necessarily worth the trip to the cinema unless you happened to be passing . . .