I Went Down (1997)
Fresh out of prison, Git rescues a former best friend (now living with Git's girlfriend) from a beating at the hands of loan sharks. He's now in trouble with the mob boss, Tom French, who sends Git to Cork with another debtor, Bunny Kelly, to find a guy named Frank Grogan, and take him to a man with a friendly face at a shack across a bog. It's a tougher assignment than it seems: Git's a novice, Bunny's prone to rash acts, Frank doesn't want to be found (and once he's found, he has no money), and maybe Tom's planning to murder Frank, which puts Git in a moral dilemma. Then, there's the long-ago disappearance of Sonny Mulligan. What's a decent and stand-up lad to do?
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It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.
.... But not as bad as it could have been either I had a problem with the title of this movie . What does " I Went Down " conjure up to you ? I thought thought we'd be seeing a bio-pic on Monica Lewinsky I seriously did but instead found myself watching a black comedy road movie This is a co-production between the BBC and the Irish film council made at the same time when British film production was picking up thanks to TRAINSPOTTING and THE FULL MONTY . There's aspects that give a vague nod British production premise of having a couple of losers in the shape of Git Hynes and Bunny Kelly make an unlikely journey but the Irish influence adds a lot of charm to the story that was missing in say THE FULL MONTYThere are a few problems though . One is that the director seems to bottle out of wanting to use on screen violence . For example Git is shown getting into a fight early in the movie which ends with a bottle being smashed on a table then it cuts to a character telling Git how angry he is that a character has been maimed . It's like the director went out of his way not to show any serious violence . There's also a few unlikely occurrences throughout the movie usually involving Bunny . You'll know them when you see them I'm sure Having said that I WENT DOWN is a lot better than many other movies that were funded by public bodies in the British Isles round about the same time . It's by no means a great movie but is far more entertaining than say THE LIFE OF STUFF and THE SLAB BOYS
Having lived my entire life in Dublin, I may appear to be bias. However, I don't believe I am, but I do believe I 'get' this movie a lot more than a person from another land might. The dialogue, which is the movies strongest point, is not only hilarious, it's totally real.This film is like a trip to a rough Dublin pub. Complete with idiotic 'North-siders' and Irish slang. Pulp Fiction is said to have some of the best dialogue ever, but even it's biggest fan can't deny that the dialogue has a very staged feel. 'I Went Down' however, really does sound like two regular Dublin lads having a 90 minute argument.By the way, the title refers to the two characters driving down to Cork, not what you may think.
'I Went Down' is a great movie.Ok, I'm Irish, I would say that.However, most English-speaking people would actually have no problem in understanding and appreciating most of the wit, humour and language in the movie, despite all the 'scare-mongering' on the web. In fact the movie proved to be very popular in non-English-speaking countries as well. The film contains a good measure of violence mixed with humour that isn't forced. The situations presented in the movie, while being out of the ordinary, are presented in a way people can relate to, more-so than many American movies of a similar vein.(I'm talking about the usual mob based story involving million dollar drugs deals, corrupt FBI agents, rogue-turned-hero and the like. That just doesn't happen too regularly outside the confines of script-writer's minds and movie theatres.) 'I Went Down', by not being over-ambitious with either its villains or heroes, creates more believable characters and a situation that could happen anywhere.(It probably won't, but then again it could...groovy, huh?)I must admit, I didn't enjoy this movie very much when I saw it in the cinema. But then I watched it again when it was on television.and it blew me away. The humour got to me and its one of the few movies I laugh out loud to.I urge anyone who didn't enjoy it first time 'round, give it a second chance. Those who haven't seen it - Rent it NOW! Here's the teaser that'll bug you until you do see it (and that'll make those of you have seen it smile smugly to yourselves ;^) - Think about the balaclava scene, think about the gun that Bunny gives Git and you're thinking about cinematic comedy classics.
I didn't love this as much as some people, (see above) but I did like this one a lot. Lots of great lines like "...you sneaky f***in'... in-the-bath- fella!" Plenty of deadpan humor. Reminds me of Midnight Run crossed with Pulp Fiction and just a little Miller's Crossing. I rented it twice, check it out.