patrick powell It really is very difficult to know what to say about Adam & Paul. 'I enjoyed it'? Is there really much enjoyment to be had from seeing a day in the life of two loser junkies who have absolutely nothing, are at rock bottom and then things get even worse? No, not really. 'It's well made'? Yes, it is extremely well made, from the acting, to the cinematography, to the direction, to the dialogue, and it is a 'better made' film than any number of huge budget movies coming from the big studios. But it is far more than simply 'well made'. 'It was funny'? Yes, there were moments of extremely dark comedy in it, but in the sense but the existence of Adam & Paul is anything but funny. Quite honestly, the film is not about 'two junkies' looking for a fix: just as pertinent are the hopeless lives of their friends and family members which are also portrayed and the pertinent fact is that this is not 'fiction' but merely a true reflection of the lives of far too many people from here in the Western world with its 'welfare state' to any number of other countries. For this viewer Adam & Paul is film-making at its finest. It is not a 'big' film, or an 'important' film or anything of that kind. I don't know what it is, but — for this viewer at least — it and a good many films like it stand head and shoulders and then some above your Avators or Hancocks or Independence Days. Looking up the credits, I noticed that Tom Murphy also acted in Small Engine Repair, another Irish film which stands head and shoulders about your usual Hollywood 'product'. As I said, it is difficult to know quite what to say about Adam & Paul, but what I can say is that it is very good that actors, directors, producers and writers can still be bothered to make films of this calibre, and may they continue to do so until at least my death.

joegreene32 Having watched a lot of Irish films recently, this is one of the better ones, and yet there is something off kilter in making a laugh out of junkies' dysfunctional lives. Mark Halloran's script is problematic at times – Laurel and Hardy on smack being the tag-line. But his performance is impressive; he inhabits his character well, while Tom Murphy plays the pathetic sidekick for laughs. The story is episodic, basically two heroin addicts trying to score. They wander around the city, meeting other characters and even get round to mugging a disabled person. There is a suitably jaunty soundtrack, but after a while it becomes a little repetitive. The director's background in advertising shows in the slick visuals and the whole package is well put together. It throws up interesting questions about portraying the marginalized. Are their stories being robbed to win plaudits and awards. Would a film about coke sniffing advertising folk be as interesting.. Still in a sea of mediocrity, it's worth a look. High point the resolution, low point Murphy's occasional gurning for the camera. Warning: Brendan Gleeson is not in this film.

Tage nopp "Adopting an off-kilter, slapstick approach to heroin addiction is, in modern terms, about as politically correct as mentioning nipple-piercing in a nunnery. But, then, Adam & Paul – Irish cinema's latest offering – is no cautionary tale…"This is by far the best movie ever to give a portrait of junkies, this movie goes deep inside and shows it all inside out..This movie is strong,good script,great casting,excellent acting.. I personally would have ranked it as my favorite's movie, there can be no denying that it is a film at the top5 of my listAbsolutely Heartbreaking,Brutal,honest,and a MUST see movie..!!!

thesociety One of the first comments in the movie becomes the corner post of the irony of urban life. Paul states "I feel sorry for those Bulgarians.." while living in conditions that are as bad as anywhere. The actors did a great job, and you feel hungry and cold and angst with them. If the director's intention was to get viewers to feel empathy for the main characters, it works well.The setting, the boy's hometown neighborhood, provides links to the boys' past and some later conversation gives an indication how their state of affairs came to be. The pace is a bit slow, but dramatic rather than boring. Making movies about junkies, it's easy to be dramatic and provide impact, this one does well. Not as graphic as it could have been, but definitely satisfying. Entertaining and quite sobering, probably a good watch for any 14yr old urban male as an education of consequences.