Hey folks, Harry here with the second review of the day from the Lovely Elaine... First she was in Russia, now she's in Ireland... I tell you... nothing like a trusty movie screen to allow grand distance traveling. This Elaine also sounds like quite a catch... I mean, look here she is on AICN... major kudos... 2 she seems to really like films from all over the place... and 3... well she's the Lovely Elaine... so while you read this review... put ice on it.
ACCELERATOR (Ireland, 1999)
First of all, I should probably tell you I'm into intelligent and elegant drama - not necessarily costume dramas, but something sophisticated anyway. So you can imagine my surprise when I found myself drawn into this drab working-class Irish film. ACCELERATOR (directed by Vinny Murphy, who also co-wrote the script) is not an elegant movie, nor are the dialogues particularly thought-provoking; in fact, they are hardly intelligible at times. I have no problems with British working-class accents, but the Irish slang used in this film occasionally proved a bit much for me. This is one English-spoken film in which subtitles are essential...
So what is ACCELERATOR about? Basically it's a film about two groups of stupid, ugly-looking car thieves who have a bone to pick with each other and do so by racing each other. As one group is from Belfast, and the other from Dublin, they decide to race from Belfast to Dublin, thus making sure that each group gets to do a part of the race on their home turf. So they divide into pairs, steal some cars, and get on the road...
ACCELERATOR is the film that GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS could have been but never was. It features some gorgeous cars, spectacular road manoevers and full-on violence, the latter taking place when the main characters, Johnny T and Whacker (admirably played by Stuart Sinclair Blyth and Gavin Kelty), cross the heavily-fortified border that separates Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland. Mostly, however, it's a film about human relationships, in which what happens inside the cars is as important as what happens between the cars. Both the hero, Johnny T, and the anti-hero, Whacker, have siblings and friends on board to assist them, and the drama lies in the sometimes gruesome things that happen to these innocents.
However, it's not all tough stuff. Although the beginning and the ending are grim, the second act is actually quite funny. To a large extent this is due to the presence of a couple who call themselves 'Spock' and 'Ripley' (I kid you not). Ultra-cool and easily the best-prepared people in the race, Spock and Ripley pop pills as if they were M&Ms and, needless to say, get VERY stoned, which makes for some entertaining moments. Another funny pairing, albeit very hackneyed, is that of a geek and a bitch who hate each other at first but fall in love later on. There's an entertaining scene in which the geek steals munchies while the bitch diverts the cashier's attention: "... and another 28 of those, please..."
ACCELERATOR is full of cliches and predictable storylines. Aggressive characters turn out to have some tenderness in them, love triangles work out the way you would expect them to, and the geek turns out to be quite cool. For some reason, however, these cliches don't ruin the film; if anything, they enhance it.
On a more technical level, the acting is convincing, the photography is as drab and colourless as you would expect it to be in a film like this, and the violence is realistic (no John Woo-style slo-mo here). Last but not least, the score is impressive. Aside from the obligatory techno, there are some hauntingly ethereal tunes - not quite Celtic, but serene enough. If someone could tell me the name of the artist, I'd be obliged.
If you were disappointed by GONE IN SIXTY SECONDS (and let's face it, who wasn't?), go and see this film if you're lucky enough to find it. It may not boast the likes of Angelina Jolie and Nicolas Cage, but the story is better, and it has some funny moments. Furthermore, you'll be supporting the Irish economy, which is in need of some such good deeds...
The Lovely Elaine
