No Ordinary Heist – Film Review
by Frank L.

Director – Colin McIvor
Writers – Aisling Corristine, Colin McIvor
Stars – Eddie Marsan, Éanna Hardwicke, Michelle Fairley

Colin McIvor and Aisling Corristine tell a fictionalised story based on the Northern Bank robbery in Belfast in 2004. Over 26 million sterling was stolen and has never been recovered. Nobody has ever been convicted of the crime. The robbery took place five years after the Good Friday Agreement. These are all elements which make the robbery fascinating. However, what McIvor and Corristine concentrate on are two bank employees. Richard Murray (Eddie Marsan) is the senior executive in overall charge of the bank, and Barry McKenna (Eanna Hardwicke) is a more lowly official, but both act as key holders. Murray and Barry do not have much respect for each other.

The film begins with the kidnapping of Barry’s mother and Murray’s wife. The kidnappers then contact Murray and Barry and tell them what they have to do inside the bank if they want their loved ones to be returned unharmed. Given the time and place, they have few options other than to comply. The kidnappers have worked out a clever scheme. As the kidnappers point out, the money is stolen from the bank without any of the robbers setting foot inside.

McIvor shows the relationships between Murray and his wife, alongside Barry and his mother, and, importantly, the contempt between Murray and Barry. There is a definite clash of personalities. Another aspect is that the events are taking place just before Christmas, and Murray is sitting on a substantial redundancy list, which senior management in London wants implemented. In charge of the security staff in the Bank is one Mags Fulton (Michelle Fairley), who fears for her job. She and her staff carry out the various checks and procedures which physically keep the bank and its cash secure. They carry out their duties throughout the film. Occasional glimpses of the kidnappers holding the wife and mother make it clear these are not individuals to mess with.

And so the story plays out inside the vaults of the bank and its immediate exterior as vehicles move into position. Tension is heightened by what Mags Fulton and her security staff can observe, particularly on their monitors. Throughout, there is a fine musical score by Phil Kieran, which heightens the atmosphere.

Both Marsan and Hardwicke capture the various conflicting emotions which encompass them. They also have to navigate their personal lack of respect for each other, coupled with the fact that both are carrying out acts which they know are crimes and, in particular, crimes against their employer. Fulton provides a fine counterpoint, carrying out her duties as a bank employee who is not being intimidated. She, in the circumstances, represents the integrity of the Bank.

The film lasts just over an hour and a half, and that time is full of tension as the demands of the kidnappers are put into effect and Murray and Barry grapple with those demands, their own consciences and their reservations about each other. It all makes for a good story, which is well told.