One of the very last films to be released back when cinemas were still operating, Pixie, now finally arrives onto home entertainment platforms. Its unlucky release date obviously had a detrimental effect on the film’s success and it was criminally overlooked. Starring Olivia Cooke of Ready Player One fame, in the title role, Pixie offers a crime comedy caper that Martin McDonagh would be proud of. Frank (Ben Hardy) and Harland (Daryl McCormack) are lifelong best friends wasting their lives away in a small rural Irish village. After a series of events leave them with a bag full of drugs and a dead body in the back of their car, the two hapless and fledgling criminals turn to the enigmatic Pixie for help. Frank and Harland quickly find themselves in over their heads as they not only face down dastardly dealers, and machine-gun clad priests, but also the very prickly Pixie.
Pixie is far from ordinary and does its best to branch out into new unexplored territory. There’s an exciting tonal balance in the narrative, with the more traditional straight-laced moments working to ground the more eccentric ones. Typically, movies struggle to juggle such opposing ideas, but in Pixie we have a rogue example of a win. The only slight snag comes during the closing moments in which the ending is perhaps a tad mean-spirited and leaves things on a vaguely sour note.
Olivia Cooke taps into the complexities of her role of Pixie, and creates a fantastic female lead, one that is swaddled in ambiguity. This ambiguity, like Frank and Harland, keeps the viewer on their toes. You can never quite trust where her loyalties lie and this mystery forms one of the more enjoyable components of the film. Cooke plays the different layers of Pixie beautifully and yet again proves herself as one of the more exciting young actors on the circuit. Pixie isn’t just a one woman show though, Hardy and McCormack are equally as important. The dynamic between their friendship veers into some lesser travelled pathways, building on the film’s uniqueness. When all three are on screen, things get really interesting; the chemistry between the three is scorching.
Taking place across the lush lands of Ireland, Pixie captures the rural beauty of the country, highlighting the true wonder that the Emerald Isle has to offer. Veering off of the beaten path, the trio’s road-trip allows the chance for director Barnaby Thompson to season the film with little pockets of quirky characters, offering maximum opportunities for humorous incidents. A stop-off at a local shop is particularly enjoyable; the events both inside and out the store poke fun at several Irish stereotypes in an inoffensively charming manner.
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Thompson fully embraces comedic elements to bring Pixie to life. The plot lends itself to be played completely straight and menacing, but director Barnaby Thompson rejects this direction. Instead Thompson injects and embraces Pixie with plenty of comedic elements and a strong vein of dark humour. This choice allows Pixie to stand-out from the saturated crime thriller market, whilst at the same time aligning itself with quirky classics like In Bruges.
Smartly crafted, cleverly written, and expertly acted, Pixie’s jaunt through Ireland is an action-packed, rib-tickling delight.
Pixie will be available to Download & Keep on the 15th February and on DVD and rental formats from the 1st March.
Pixie
Summary
Olivia Cooke picks yet another great project with this Irish-set answer to In Bruges.
