The Young Offenders

The Young Offenders

Theatrical poster
Directed by Peter Foott
Produced by Peter Foott
Julie Ryan
Written by Peter Foott
Starring Alex Murphy
Chris Walley
Hilary Rose
Ciaran Bermingham
Cinematography Patrick Jordan
Edited by Colin Campbell
Production
company
Irish Film Board
Vico Films
Distributed by Wildcard Distribution
Release date
8 July 2016
(Galway Film Fleadh)
16 September 2016
(Ireland)
Running time
85 minutes
Country Ireland
Language English

The Young Offenders is a 2016 Irish comedy film written, directed, and co-produced by Peter Foott.[1][2][3][4]

Production

The film is based on the seizure of 1.5 tonnes of cocaine off the Irish coast near Mizen Head in 2007.[2] The film was shot in Cork and along the Wild Atlantic Way.[5]

Plot

Best friends Conor and Jock are two teenagers from Cork who dress the same, act the same, and even have the same weak moustaches. Jock is a notorious bicycle thief who plays a daily game of cat-and-mouse with the bike-theft-obsessed police sergeant Healy. Conor is the son of a single mother, Mairead, who works for a fishmonger at an indoor food market. When a drug-trafficking boat capsizes off the coast west of County Cork, leading to the seizure of 61 bales of cocaine, each worth 7 million, word gets out that there is a bale missing.

Conor and Jock steal two bikes and go on a road trip, hoping to find the missing bale, which they can sell and therefore escape their troubled home lives. Unfortunately for them, Healy is in hot pursuit. The boys soon find the bale of cocaine, stealing it from a disabled drug dealer named Ray, but they end up losing it on the way back to Cork. Ray later tracks them down, steals a nail gun from a hardware store, and angrily invades Conor's home just as Healy also catches them. However, Healy clears things up and arrests Ray. Jock is put into foster care with Conor and his mother due to his abusive upbringing.

Cast

  • Alex Murphy as Conor MacSweeney
  • Chris Walley as Jock Murphy
  • Hilary Rose as Mairead MacSweeney
  • Dominic MacHale as Sergeant Healy
  • P. J. Gallagher as Ray
  • Shane Casey as Billy Murphy
  • Pascal Scott as Farmer
  • Judy Donovan as Local Shopkeeper
  • Michael Sands as Jock's Dad
  • Ciaran Bermingham as Superintendent Flynn
  • Stephen O'Connor as Angry Dad
  • Fionula Linehan as DIY Worker
  • Antoinette Hilliard as Fish Head Woman

Release

The Young Offenders premiered at the Galway Film Fleadh on 8 July 2016, and won Best Irish Feature Film at the festival. It became the fastest Irish film to break the €1 million mark at the Irish box office in 2016.[6] Carnaby Sales and Distribution has acquired the international sales rights to the film, while a deal with Vertigo Releasing will see the film released in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia.[7] The film had its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas on 23 September 2016, where it won a Special Mention for Best Comedy Debut.[8]

TV Series

In May 2017, a six episode TV series was announced.[9] The series will air on BBC3, with the original cast set to reunite. Actress Hilary Rose, said that "will not be softened or Anglicised by the people at the [BBC]".

Filming started on August 8th, 2017, and is set to air in early 2018.[10]

Reception

The Irish Examiner scored it 4/5, saying "huge potential for that rare breakout hit which also attains a cultish following with endlessly quotable one liners".[11] The Irish Times named it as one of the highlights of the Galway Film Fleadh, saying that Walley and Murphy are "brilliant as track-suited layabouts who, though lazy, impulsive and ignorant, remain endlessly lovable throughout".[12] After its U.S. premiere, The Austin Chronicle called the film "a charming return for Irish comedy".[13]

Year Award Category Result
2016 Los Angeles Comedy Festival Best Feature Film, Best Feature Screenplay, Best Feature Direction Won
2016 Irish Film Festival London The Súil Eile Award, The Ros Hubbard Award for Acting Won
2016 Fantastic Fest Special Mention for Best Comedy Debut Won
2016 Galway Film Fleadh Best Irish Feature FilmWon

References

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