Connor Norcott

When Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye was first released in 1973, its limited opening in Los Angeles was met with a plethora of negative reviews, stymying the film’s appeal to the general public. In short, it wasn’t received well. The notable defenders of Altman’s adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same name were none other than the late great Pauline Kael and, of course, Roger Ebert, who in his review of the film praised Altman’s attempted supplantation of the famous Philip Marlowe c

Bursting onto the scene with thunderous aplomb, Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting made huge cultural waves over here in the U.K, depicting the lives of Mark Renton (Ewan McGregor) and his gang of heroin-addicted friends in all their ecstasy and agony. From the very opening, the explosive drumbeats of Iggy Pop’s “Lust for Life” pound along with Renton as he sprints through a crowded Edinburgh high street, setting the tone for a tumultuous tale of woe, friendship, and addiction. Upon its release in 1996

Martin McDonagh’s black comedy In Bruges was one of the first films that made me feel Irish, which is ironic considering it’s helmed by a British director (albeit with Irish roots), set in Belgium, and on the surface is about two hitmen sheltering from the fallout of a botched job. That being said, the hitmen in question, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), are both Irish and it’s through their relationship and the journey they go on that I felt my Irishness was being showcased on scr