The General (1998)

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

I saw this film just after having sat through The Sopranos, and was struck by the similarities.The central character is a fat sociopath who leads a life of crime including armed robbery, murder, torture and perverting the course of justice. He is surrounded by a small army of other low-lives who carry out his instructions.None of the characters is engaging, and I personally didn't give a damn what happened to any of them, except that I was quite pleased when the Cahill character got rubbed out, which happens at the very start of the film. (The rest of what you see is a flash-back.) On the positive side, at least you didn't have to watch 6 whole series of one-hour episodes to reach the denouement, and there's a decent performance from Jon Voigt. I'm not Irish but I thought his accent was pretty good.

A craven, cowardly film. Director Boorman shows Cahill burglarizing rich houses, but the male occupant is shown being unfaithful with the nanny, thats all right then. The forensic scientist investigating Cahill is blown up in his car, but he is rat faced sourpuss, and doesn't look like a nice man, so thats all right too. The Beits, owner of Russborrough House, made their money by exploiting 'darkies' digging up diamonds, so it's okay to rob priceless art from them and hide it in a bunker in the Wicklow mountains. The Garda kill his ferrets and are implicated in his murder. The moral equivalencing is sickening, Boorman looks for a hit film, but doesn't have the guts to stand against the criminality of the generals gang, who terrorized the neighbourhood, and unleashed another wave of scumbags upon Dublin. He even liaised with the Generals son while making it. Disgusting. Shame on him for his cowardice.

"The General" is the nickname of the real-life, contemporary Irish criminal, Martin Cahill. Brilliantly played by Brendan Gleeson, director John Boorman dramatizes Cahill's odd career as a very successful thief and robber. Shot in black and white the movie has a gritty realism that doesn't glamorize Cahill and his gang. But Cahill, as portrayed by Gleeson and Boorman, is a likable and quirky eccentric who does things his own way, a characteristic which causes him to fall afoul of both the police and the IRA.Not your typical A-List Hollywood crime melodrama, this movie is not for everyone, especially those looking for the typical Vin Diesel or Al Pacino crime flick. This is more like the Sopranos in the Irish slums. And, I recommend it highly for a Saturday night rental; just be forewarned that it is quite brutal and intense at times.

"The General" is a critically acclaimed, misdirected mistelling of the misadventures of an Irish gangster of some repute for his eccentric ways. The film is a drama with very strong comedic overtones such that it is doesn't work well as either drama or comedy. In short, "The General" is only mildly interesting, mildly entertaining, and mildly amusing. I was suckered into watching the film by good reviews and high marks from IMDB.com users. A cute flick for those with an interest in recent Irish history in general or Martin Cahill in particular.