''A Film With Me in It'' is a 2008 Irish film directed by

Ian Fitzgibbon Ian Fitzgibbon (born 1962 in Dublin) is an Irish film and television actor/director. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Spin the Bottle'', ''A Film with Me in It'' and the Comedy Central UK show Threesome, and for the role of Fr. Jessup in ...

and written by Mark Doherty. The film is a

black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discu ...

that follows Mark (also Mark Doherty) and Pierce (

Dylan Moran Dylan William Moran ( ; born 3 November 1971) is an Irish comedian, writer, actor, artist and poet. He is best known for his observational comedy, the comedy series ''Black Books'' (which he co-wrote and starred in), and his work with Simon Pe ...

), an unsuccessful actor and a failing writer respectively, who find themselves trying to cope after a string of accidents surrounds them in corpses. The film generally received a positive response, and was released on DVD in October 2011.

Plot

Mark (Doherty) is an actor living in a basement flat below his writer friend Pierce (Moran). Residing with his girlfriend, Sally (Huberman), Mark struggles to find work whilst caring for his

paralysed Paralysis (also known as plegia) is a loss of motor function in one or more muscles. Paralysis can also be accompanied by a loss of feeling (sensory loss) in the affected area if there is sensory damage. In the United States, roughly 1 in 50 ...

brother, David (O'Doherty). Desperate to avoid paying overdue rent, Mark continually eludes landlord Jack (Allen), meaning he is also unable to inform Jack of the flat's dilapidated state. Discovering that Mark wasted money meant for the overdue rent, Sally finally decides to end her strained relationship with Mark, informs Jack of the repairs needed, and arranges to move out. The damaged state of the flat reaching its peak, Mark witnesses two consecutive freak accidents; a bookshelf falls and kills his dog, and the living room chandelier collapses and crushes David. Reeling in horror from the events, Mark looks on as Jack appears to repair a high lightbulb atop a wobbly stool, only to fall and pierce his throat with his screwdriver. Pierce then arrives and discovers the corpses, causing him to panic. Hiding in the bathroom, Mark and Pierce plot to control the situation, only for Sally to return. Discovering David's body, Sally faints and impales herself on Mark's clarinet stand, killing her too. Realizing the absurdity of four consecutive, fatal accidents occurring in one place, Pierce concocts a plan to move Jack's body to an alternative location, as they both had a strong motive to murder him. Shooing Sally's father when he arrives, a police officer (O'Sullivan) then arrives due to an unrelated noise complaint, causing Pierce to panic and take her hostage. Unable to kill the officer, the duo ties her up and attempts to reason with her. Left unattended, she attempts to escape through a faulty window, only for it to close and crush her head. Now surrounded by several corpses, Pierce finally formulates a plan; placing David, Sally, Jack, and the dog in his car, they drive it to a secluded area and cause it to explode, leaving minimal forensic evidence. Additionally, since three immediate deaths of Mark's acquaintances can place suspicion on him, Mark places his jewellery and clarinet on David's corpse, faking his own death. Finally moving the officer to the neighbour's garden, Pierce fakes her death as caused by a falling plant pot. Cutting Mark's hair and dressing him as David, the two attempt to pass Mark as his disabled brother, and give Pierce an alibi as his carer in Mark's absence. A closing epilogue then shows Pierce has written a script based on the film's events, and is currently directing it whilst Mark continues to pass as David.

Cast

* Mark Doherty as Mark, a struggling actor. *

as Pierce, an aspiring screenwriter and Mark's best friend. *

Amy Huberman Amy Huberman (born 20 March 1979) is an Irish actress and writer, which is known for her role as Daisy in the RTÉ drama series '' The Clinic''. In 2018, she began writing and starring in the comedy series ''Finding Joy''. Early life Huberman g ...

as Sally, Mark's long suffering girlfriend. * Keith Allen as Jack the landlord. Allen previously played a tenant who died unexpectedly in the film ''

Shallow Grave Shallow Grave may refer to: * ''Shallow Grave'' (1987 film), an American slasher film * ''Shallow Grave'' (1994 film), a British thriller film directed by Danny Boyle * ''Shallow Grave'' (album), a 2008 album by The Tallest Man on Earth {{disa ...

''. *

Aisling O'Sullivan Aisling O'Sullivan (born in Tralee, County Kerry) is an Irish actress. Career O'Sullivan attended the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin and joined the Abbey Theatre in 1991. Theatre In 2011 and 2012, she toured Ireland with Druid, playing the ...

as a policewoman. *

David O'Doherty David Nicholas O'Doherty (; born 18 December 1975) is an Irish comedian, author, musician, actor and playwright and son of renowned jazz pianist Jim Doherty. His stand-up has won many international awards including the if.comedy award in 2008 ...

as David, Mark's brother who was paralysed following a rugby accident. David and Mark are brothers in real life despite the different stage surnames. * Ronan Wilmot as Sally's father. Cameos by Irish director

Neil Jordan Neil Patrick Jordan (born 25 February 1950) is an Irish film director, screenwriter, novelist and short-story writer. His first book, ''Night in Tunisia (short story collection), Night in Tunisia'', won a Somerset Maugham Award and the Guardian ...

, and actor

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), '' Bend It Like ...

Production

The film was shot in the

Dublin 4 Dublin 4, also rendered as D4 and D04, is a historic postal district of Dublin, Ireland including Baggot Street Upper, the southernmost fringes of the Dublin Docklands, and the suburbs of Ballsbridge, Donnybrook, Irishtown, Merrion, Ringsend ...

area.

Reception

Michael Dwyer of the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' gave the film 4 stars out of 5 and described it as "

Withnail & I ''Withnail and I'' is a 1987 British black comedy film written and directed by Bruce Robinson. Loosely based on Robinson's life in London in the late 1960s, the plot follows two unemployed actors, Withnail and "I" (portrayed by Richard E. Gran ...

reworked by Joe Orton". It was nominated for six

Irish Film and Television Awards Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

including Best Film, Best Actor (Dylan Moran) and Best Screenplay (Mark Doherty), but did not win, with the film ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...

'' winning in six of eight categories in which it was nominated. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 28th

International Istanbul Film Festival The Istanbul Film Festival ( tr, İstanbul Film Festivali) is the first and oldest international film festival in Turkey, organised by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. It is held every year in April in movie theaters in Istanbul, Tu ...

in Turkey.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Film With Me in It 2008 films Irish comedy films Films directed by Ian Fitzgibbon 2008 comedy films Films set in Dublin (city) Films shot in Dublin (city) English-language Irish films