Neither film nor actor tries to resolve Cahill's contradictions or anyone's feelings for him.

| Apr 1, 2019

I can no longer stomach the premise in so many Anglo-American crime pictures that mavericks are admirable simply because they're mavericks

| May 1, 2012

A movie that says more about the rebellious Irish psyche than a heap of overtly political pictures.

| Mar 26, 2009

All the performances are impressive, but Gleeson and Voight are especially memorable, lending an almost tragic air of inexorability to Cahill and Kenny's cat-and-mouse games.

| Jun 24, 2006

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Apr 25, 2003

The black-and-white tones (shot on color stock) are so rich that the ski masks of burglars wind up looking like velvet.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2000

A fulsome, fascinating piece of 20th century Irish folklore.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 1, 2000

Funny, scabrous, disturbing, tragic, and improbably life-affirming, The General travels its own idiosyncratic path with more real style and substance than the past half-decade of Hollywood gangster movies combined.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jan 1, 2000

The General is a refined, traditional movie about a character who is never more traditional than when he imagines himself outside the law. It's a great paradox, but it barely comes alive on the screen.

Full Review | Jan 1, 2000

Gleeson is one of those rare actors who has an instinctive rapport with the audience from the moment he appears on-screen.

| Jan 1, 2000

Boorman's film is shot in wide-screen black and white, and as it often does, black and white emphasizes the characters and the story, instead of setting them awash in atmosphere.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Gleeson plays Cahill as an ordinary man who does this stuff because he's good at it.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 1, 2000

Cahill is played by Brendan Gleeson, an actor of blustery ferocity whose greasy hair, piggy jowls, and lumpish, slovenly physique would make him look harmless were it not for the angry dark pools of his eyes.

| Original Score: B- | Dec 18, 1998