Overshadowed by the flashier Goodfellas on its release, this dark, brooding and deeply-satisfying thriller draws heavily on Shakespearean tragedy, Catholicism and the troubles, as well as more conventional gangster thriller narrative to deliver a giant film that will in time hopefully be considered as the masterpiece it is.<br /><br />It is superbly made, lit and edited, and Joanou elicits magnificent performances from the entire cast but especially his three leads - this is Oldman's best work by some considerable margin. There is lots of attention to detail here - not least Kathleen's red dress during the Paddy's Day parade as the principals head for the Peckinpah-style denouement.<br /><br />This is darker and more adult than any other gangster film and has a doomed hopelessness at its core: no-one can escape from what they really are. Consistently intelligent and understated, it is also superbly and movingly scored by the great Morricone, which almost lends a contemporary western elegy feeling to the film.<br /><br />Quite simply superb.