A Film With Me In It (2008)

Well lucky for me, my recent Dylan Moran fixation (thanks so much Hulu, for Black Books) coincided with his latest movie role in the decidedly black comedy A Film With Me In It, currently showing at the IFC Center in Manhattan (a pretty nice place despite its obsession with Lynchian coffee). Screenwriter Mark Doherty stars as Mark, a down-on-his-luck unemployed actor living with his hardworking girlfriend Sally (Amy Huberman) and paralyzed brother David (David O'Doherty). Having spent his overdue rent check to pay the utility bills, he's been avoiding his landlord Jack (Keith Allen), and spends a lot of time with scruffy upstairs neighbor Pierce (Dylan Moran) attempting to write a screenplay.

After Amy gets fed up with their decrepit, broken-down apartment and Mark's money problems, she decides to move out. Mark is prepared to spend the night solemnly playing clarinet, but when a series of household catastrophes leads to three successive deaths, he desperately calls on Pierce for help. They haphazardly try to determine a way to not look like murderers as more accidents pile up, with Mark in a state of shock and Pierce approaching the whole situation like a movie script. And trust me, hilarity ensues.

This is basically the perfect example of a black comedy. It's full of death (and a lot of it), lost love, unemployment, depression, problems, and heartbreak, but somehow had me giggling the entire time. It helps that Moran is so naturally funny with his ludicrous observations and ever-indignant manner. It also helps that the script is really good: fast-paced, tightly-packed, serious when it needs to be, and frequently unexpected. The characters are very well-written and acted, never resorting to caricature despite their zany antics. I really came to feel for Mark and Pierce, with both Moran and Doherty turning in surprisingly heartfelt performances on top of excellent comic timing.

A Film With Me In It is primarily a comedy, but it gets a little too real at one or two moments. While these intense scenes feel somewhat out of place, they lend the film a surprising edge and sense of daring. The ending is strange, but still pretty satisfying. All in all this is a delightfully dark and often ridiculous Irish comedy with some great writing and fine performances. I'm not sure what its distribution situation is, but hopefully it'll get wider release in the US or at least a DVD soon.

4.5/5