For such a small country, Ireland is really churning out some great movies these days. Why do so many of our successes involve fairly crap criminals though? Topping the list are Intermission and Adam and Paul. You could definitely include In Bruges and The Guard on that list too. The list has just gotten a little bit longer too, but hugely better. The Young Offenders is one of Ireland’s best movies in a long while.
What is The Young Offenders all about?
Back in 2007, the Gardai carried out Operation Seabright. This was the second largest drug seizure in Irish history. Lots of cocaine was being smuggled into the country aboard boats. That much is true. The Young Offenders takes place at the same time as Operation Seabright. Two young Cork lads, Conor and Jock, hear that bales of cocaine might be floating around the ocean. Tired of stealing bikes and thinking that €7 million might come in handy, they set off in search of the coke.
To dive a bit deeper, The Young Offenders is a buddy movie. Two young lads are killing a bit of time during after their Junior Cert. To be honest, Irish summers can be a bit boring so the draw of €7 million makes sense.
Who’s in it?
There are no real Hollywood stars to be seen, but there are plenty of well-known faces. Faces will be particularly recognisable if you’re into the Irish comedy scene.
The stars, Conor and Jock, are played by Alex Murphy and Chris Walley in their breakthrough roles. PJ Gallagher and Hilary Rose are the more familiar faces that appear in The Young Offenders. While known best for hidden-camera comedy, the two deliver on the big screen.
Is The Young Offenders any good?
When I said The Young Offenders is one of Ireland’s best movies in a long while, I meant it. The film delves deep into Conor and Jocks relationship together while handling some other problems like alcohol in the home. Most importantly, The Young Offenders is a highly successful movie that’s not based in Dublin. That’s incredibly satisfying.
The movie has won several awards already and is one of the top selling Irish movies of 2016. It’s also been released in the UK, again to great applause. Best of all, you can now watch The Young Offenders on Netflix, so there’s no excuse.
