I Went Down

Unassuming and likable, this Irish road movie, about a couple of affable losers (Peter McDonald and Brendan Gleeson) who owe a favor to the local crime boss and wind up saddled with a hostage who won't shut up, gets by on the strength of its performances and dialogue. Certainly anybody expecting a coherent narrative is likely to be gravely disappointed; director Paddy Breathnach gives the film a curious water-on-hot-griddle quality, jumping from scene to scene without traditional segues or any sense that a story is gradually building. As a series of deadpan blackout sketches, however, it's frequently hilarious and always engaging; Gleeson, a little-known Irish thespian who played Mel Gibson's buddy in Braveheart and stars in John Boorman's upcoming The General, is a revelation as patient, world-weary Bunny (yes, Bunny), rolling his eyes in frustration as his charge in the back seat babbles on about everything and nothing. World-shaking it ain't, but a pleasant time, as John Lennon once said, is guaranteed for all. Recommended. (M. D'Angelo)