Broken Law

It's the kiss that does it. It comes from nowhere. There's no set up. It happens between two characters mere minutes after one has just ripped the other to shreds. Nothing about it feels natural. It's a forced moment designed to shunt the narrative in a certain direction and it's jarring as hell. It's one thing to ignore coincidences in a film but plot contrivances always grate. Always.

Joe Connolly's (Graham Earley) fresh out of prison. Within minutes he's hooked up with his old partner in crime Wallace (John Connors) and they're off on a coke fuelled piss up on the streets of Dublin. Joe ends the evening being kicked to bits in an alleyway and the cops are called. Dave Connolly (Tristan Heanue) is the garda who deals with the situation and two brothers reunite under under insalubrious circumstances. The next day they meet again under even worse circumstances and it's the catalyst for a showdown that could see them and a bank teller, Amia (Gemma Leah-Devereaux) who's been caught in the whole mess, facing the killer end of a gun.

Broken Law could have been memorable. It takes oft told tales ( the lure of crime being too great for someone trying to go straight & brothers on either side of the law ) does it's own thing with them in a lean, mean & efficient manner and it's well played by actors who both look and feel the part. But then it goes and damages the good will created by lacing the story with way too much coincidence and has it's characters do things that make no sense to propel the movie forward. Characters should always dictate the plot, not the other way around and after one eyerolling moment you'll stop taking Broken Law seriously.

And its a pity because there's plenty of good here. John Connors as Wallace is a genuinely menacing bad guy. It's the first time I've seen him play an all out scummy part and he's effective as hell especially in a front door interrogation of a terrified mother. We love a boo hiss baddie and he delivers in spades. Earley and Heanue as the brother's Connolly do well too, especially in a quiet moment of sibling overindulgence that gives the film both a beating heart and a glimmer of much needed humour amongst the profanity and violence. There's tension and an unspoken past, hinted at in a few lines but there's love there too and they make it believable. I like when a film doesn't bludgeon you, lets you works things out for yourself and Broken Law does this well and even manages to get in a few subtle digs at Ireland's crippling social & housing issues and gardai problems too.

Broken Law is out now in cinemas. It could have been better but it's not a bad way to reintroduce yourself to the big screen. Oh and it's only 90 minutes too so even if it's issues annoy you, you won't be in there too long.