Pixie Review

Pixie is an Irish set comedy caper with a twist by centring on a young woman involved with the criminal world.

On the West Coast of Ireland two men rob a group of priests doing a drug deal. However, the drugs end up in the hands of two 20-something men who end up in over their head due to a local crime lord, a group of gangster priest and a sadistic assassin are after the drugs. Fortunately for the young pair, Pixie (Olivia Cooke) finds them and plans to help them out.

When it comes to modern crime-comedy films the spectre of Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie lingers over them. Pixie was no different because it had the same style of humour, visual tricks, and type of story because many characters were all after a Macguffin. The film was over the top due to issues like the gangster priests and the film’s opening was like a Tarantino film because it superimposed text saying “Once Upon a Time in the West… Of Ireland.” Luckily for fans of those directors, Pixie will please them.

The key for Pixie was its central character and the film does serve as a starring vehicle for Olivia Cooke. Cooke was already an emerging star due to her roles in Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Ready Player One. Pixie looked like a manic pixie dream girl, she was an artist/photographer, she had a distinctive sense of dress – she rides a bike whilst wearing a dress and red Doc Martens, and during most of the film, she was wearing a red leather jacket. Most of the young men in the film were infatuated with her.

However, Pixie was no angel. She was a clever and manipulative woman and at times was cold-blooded. Her motivations were hard to read. She was the most experienced member of the trio as shown when the characters met a local drug supplier. The lads let their ignorant which led to Pixie’s obvious disapproval.

The friendship between Pixie and the lads played like a coming-of-age story. The group go on a road trip as they set out to meet the drug supplier and on their journey they commit petty crime, go on the beach, and share a hotel room together. Pixie wants to live Ireland for San Francisco, whilst the lads have their own journeys because one of them lacked confidence, the other had never left Sligo.

As a crime comedy Pixie was a mix of other crime films. The rural setting with wacky characters involved with crimes had a Hot Fuzz vibe to it, and a plot involving drugs on the West Coast of Ireland was like The Guard. The basic set up where a couple of small-time criminals robbed some powerful criminals was like the Brad Pitt film Killing Them Softly. The elements involving the gangster priests seemed like something from The Boondock Saints and the video game Hitman: Absolution.

Pixie was a fun romp that gave a genre that’s usually dominated by the American and British an Irish twist. If nothing else it’s worth watching for Olivia Cooke.