The film was shot in 18 days on a budget of £ 18,000 . According to Connolly " We put together a compact crew – first-timers like ourselves – and we shot the film in eighteen days , mostly within a three mile radius of O’Connell Bridge . We tried to follow some basic guidelines we had culled together from reading and hearing about low-budget film-making – namely , you write a script with a couple of characters in one location ; you do an inventory of availability ; you make it fit your budget ; you rehearse well , talk everything through ; you spend the money on getting the best gear you can afford ; you keep the shoot tight – three weeks maximum ; you use locations that are free ; everyone defers their payments , but you feed and water them well and keep to a twelve-hour day , six day week ; you shoot a ratio of 6/1 and you keep away from people who say it ca n’t be done . " Harvey O’Brien suggested the film " has a distinctive tone which is matched by David Murray 's smoothly self-involved performance as the central character . One comes away with a definite feeling of the brooding angst of the new entrepreneurial opt-out class in middle class Celtic Tiger Ireland , and though it is really so much navel-gazing on the road to a silly resolution , it works on its own terms ... It is not entirely original : movies about wandering semi-remorseful low-lifes are part of a long tradition in both European and American cinemas , but it does have the benefit of being more or less the first Irish film of its kind and tone arguably since Neil Jordan 's Angel ( which it vaguely resembles in some ways ) . It is also unusual that the film features a drug dealer who neither lives in a ghetto nor a palace , but spends as much time lounging on his couch in the nice apartment he shares with his girlfriend on Dublin 's southside as he does politely meeting and greeting his customers in town . Flick is not a masterpiece , but in the manner of November Afternoon or How to Cheat in the Leaving Certificate , it has the merit of accomplishing what it sets out to do . It is a modestly scaled , no-star , small crew production which works considerably better than many of its more elaborate , higher budget equivalents . " Ciaran Carty in Sunday Tribune said the film " brilliantly taps into the self-aware beat of Dublin today , a youth culture of clubbing , drugs and casual sex " while Hugh Linehan in The Irish Times said the film " reveals Connolly as a film maker of considerable talent " . Lael Loewenstein in Variety said " Pic is beautifully lit and strikingly filmed . Awash in bold red and blue strokes highlighting Dublin 's menacing underworld , pic establishes a realm of glamorous filth that is as fascinating as its characters are distasteful . " The film had its world premiere at the 44th Murphy 's Cork Film Festival in October 1999 . It was screened at the Galway Film Fleadh in July 2000 where programmer Pat Collins wrote " Flick is Fintan Connolly ’s debut feature but he shows no sign of first time nerves . It ’s effortlessly stylish and slick , closer in tone and mood to some recent Spanish films than to the average Irish offering . David Murray acts in his first major role and has a great screen presence – his swaggering saunters through the Dublin streets form the spine of the film . Owen McPolin ’s camerawork is worth special mention , seldom has Dublin looked so appealing . " It had its North American premiere at the AFI Fest in Los Angeles in November 2000 . Programmer Shaz Bennett wrote " Intoxicating performances and the resonant echoing soundtrack make this love thriller by director/writer Fintan Connolly a haunting , intensely erotic film . FLICK punctures the surface of an individual adrift in the absence of compassion or support – very much like the suburbs , minus the drinking , smoking and screwing . " The musical score for '' Flick '' was written by Niall Byrne
Cork Film Festival
Cork Film Festival
Flick (2000 film)