Pixie (2020)

Olivia Cooke is on good form in this rather far-fetched Irish comedy caper that sees her easily manipulate then hook up with the naive pairing of Ben Hardy and Daryl McCormack and armed with an huge stash of MDMA and their own body in the boot, they try to stay one step ahead of some pursuing drug dealers who happen to be men of the cloth. The dialogue is quite witty, the three lead performers work well together and the imagery of a nun with a pump-action shotgun certainly raises a smile, but the story is really pretty thin and the last fifteen minutes way too predictable. It's also padded out a bit too much by lovely aerial shots of their road trip and/or pretty extended use of the - admittedly, quite good, catchy soundtrack. Much is made of the appearances by Colm Meaney and Alec Baldwin, but my vote goes to Ned Dennehy as "Seamus" - the assassin - who always manages to inject a little something else into his performances, brief as they usually are. I did enjoy this, it's an engaging piece of escapist cinema that has high production standards, plenty of spirit and Ben Hardy occasionally well out of his comfort zone!.