Intermission

In the suburbs of Dublin, more than a dozen strangers find their paths colliding in sometimes violent, sometimes absurd ways in Intermission, the first feature from director John Crowley. Setting the chain of events in motion is Lehiff (Colin Farrell), a small-time crook whose most recent petty theft has him on the run from Jerry (Colm Meaney), a self-aggrandizing police detective who's even more full of himself now that he's being constantly trailed by a TV news documentary crew. Meanwhile, Lehiff's friend John (Cillian Murphy) is going though a trial breakup -- or "intermission," as he calls it -- with his girlfriend, Deirdre (Kelly Macdonald), who has promptly taken up with the older, more conventionally responsible bank manager Sam (Michael McElhatton). When Lehiff suggests that the answer to all of his and John's troubles is to set up Sam and rob his vaults, John's too eager to comply -- and their plan spells dire consequences for everyone in their immediate circle of relations. Also starring David Wilmot, Brian F. O'Byrne, and Shirley Henderson, Intermission had its premiere at the Galway Film Festival, where it won the Audience Award, and secured berths at the Edinburgh, Telluride, and Toronto festivals.