Directed by: Colin McIvor
Written by: Colin McIvor and Aisling Corristine
Run Time: 1 hours 39 minutes
In Colin McIvor’s previous film, Zoo (2017), a group of friends smuggle a baby elephant out of its enclosure in an effort to save it from being put down amidst the Belfast Blitz. It’s an unbelievable true story, told with real, quaint charm. Staying similarly close to home for his latest film, No Ordinary Heist, McIvor depicts yet another historic, but perhaps slightly more high-stakes, local crime, as he recounts the events of the infamous 2004 Northern Bank robbery.
The film takes place in the busy run-up to Christmas, but with employees having heard rumours of impending redundancies, there’s little festive cheer in the air. Bank manager Richard Murray (Eddie Marsan) is feeling the pressure as he tries to keep his staff calm while also meeting the harsh demands of head office. This isn’t helped by his ever-cantankerous relationship with fellow vault key holder Barry McKenna (Éanna Hardwicke). However, when both of their families are taken hostage, the quarrelsome co-workers are forced to put their past differences aside to carry out an inside job, robbing their own bank.
McIvor sets the scene well, building tension that exists before there’s even any hint of a heist. The unease over the redundancies is palpable, and the friction between Richard and Barry feels particularly uncomfortable, ready to snap at any moment. Then there’s the shady “hoods” at Barry’s local. He’s happy looking after the money for the football, but they’re more interested in the cash he’s in charge of at the bank. It builds well to an aggressive and co-ordinated attack on both of the employee’s homes, but this is the height of the film’s suspense, with the subsequent robbery sadly never quite achieving this same intensity.
That is the nature of this particular heist though; it’s not a flashy ensemble style caper such as Ocean’s Eleven (2001), nor does it have the boisterous humour of something like Logan Lucky (2017). Rather, it’s actually quite straightforward and as a result, at times, it can feel a little dull. While it’s perhaps unfair to compare it to some of the genre’s most exciting films, if your title’s going to make as bold a claim as No Ordinary Heist does, it needs to be able to justify it.
Frustratingly, it misunderstands its own appeal. Its setting is the selling point. Naturally, there’s mention of the Troubles, as with the film being set only six years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement — the peace deal which brought an end to the thirty-year conflict — the shadow of this time is still felt. Tentatively alluding to paramilitary involvement in the heist, McIvor starts to explore the fear and intimidation still experienced by local communities, but the script doesn’t do so with enough conviction to make this theme a defining factor. Instead, it focuses more on the mundane mechanics of the robbery itself, those that see Barry and Richard receiving intermittent calls with accompanying instructions. This gives the action a subdued stop-and-start pace that stunts the momentum, leaving the larceny with a distinctly lethargic feel.
Thankfully, the performances are far more energetic, particularly Éanna Hardwicke’s. With the vault key on his belt and a chip on his shoulder, the Cork-born actor is superb here, sounding just like one of West Belfast’s very own. Playing opposite him, Eddie Marsan’s struggle with the accent is, alas, undeniable, only made more noticeable by how effectively Hardwicke manages his, but otherwise, his performance is solid. The pair have a good chemistry, appropriately borne out of conflict, each wary of the other based on a past dispute between their dads. Of course this clash comes into play as they desperately try to save their loved ones. Marsan’s agitation adeptly shows just how affected his character’s become by the whole ordeal, but it’s Hardwicke’s more emotional outpourings (he just loves his mammy) that feel most earnest.
It’s not enough to see No Ordinary Heist make a successful getaway though, as its more pedestrian plot sees it eventually close out its cinematic account in rather anticlimactic fashion. Ultimately, in failing to capitalise on its strong sense of place — and therefore, its grasp of what makes this real-life heist so interesting in the first place — ironically it all ends up, well, a little too, ordinary.
Star Rating: ★ ★
Not Too Loud 
Leave a comment