Recovered Classic: I Went Down


Rather amusingly released in the UK the same week as James Cameron’s Titanic, I Went Down is a deliciously quirky and sporadically violent road movie crime caper which came in so far under the radar in 1998 it probably made passing acquaintance with the Earth’s core.

Set in the Emerald Isle and rife with Irish humour and fizzing local vernacular, director Paddy Breathnach’s intensely enjoyable movie succeeds so impressively because it plays to its strengths—devastating dialogue, colourful characters, macabre humour—and just uses the plot as something of an occasional reference point to help move the story along. It’s almost as if what actually happens is incidental, because it’s what’s said while it’s happening that gives the movie its real substance and entertainment value.

It all kicks off when unlucky-in-love ex-con Git (Peter McDonald) falls foul of a gangster played by Tony Doyle the very day he gets out of prison. To make it up to the Dublin mobster, Git agrees to carry out a seemingly innocent job for him to repay the debt. To keep an eye on him, Doyle sends one of his goons along for the ride, the not-so-bright Bunny (Brendan Gleeson). An ageing bruiser with sideburns as criminal as his police record, it’s his job to make sure Git carries out the errand, namely tracking down a man who may or may not have £25,000 of Doyle’s money.

So begins a journey of theft, greed, murder and deception as Bunny and Git find themselves embroiled in a past secret which manifests itself in increasingly violent fashion as their task turns out to be not so straightforward after all.

Intelligently scripted and full of deftly crafted surprises, this isn’t exactly your standard road movie (there’s too much bog trudging for a start), nor are Git and Bunny your average, everyday gangsters. Neither of them are skilled lawbreakers (Gleeson can’t pick locks if someone’s watching him and McDonald has never fired a gun), although they do get better as the mood becomes darker and the violence intensifies.

Brimming with offbeat touches, the engaging central dynamic between the two main characters is key to the whole shebang, their relationship building as the movie unfolds and their task becoming more complex the closer they get their quarry. Laced with smart, witty dialogue, Breathnach’s direction is confident and breezy, and he always manages to conjure up something unexpected to grab the attention—when Bunny’s dress sense isn’t doing the job for him.

In between all the punch-ups, car theft, one night stands and hilarious conversations, there’s the occasional pause for pathos, but Breathnach is careful to maintain a steady, energetic pace and the episodic nature of the story development is highly effective, giving the whole thing a fresh, inventive spin. All in all, a spankingly enjoyable ride through the world of dis-organised crime.

David Lichtneker

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of I Went Down and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.