Inspired by the largest cash robbery in Irish history, director Colin McIvor’s No Ordinary Heist puts two ordinary bank employees at the center of an extraordinary crime they never signed up for. When armed criminals decide that the easiest way into a vault is through the people who work there, what follows is a test of nerve, loyalty, and just how far a person will go to keep the ones they love alive.
Richard Murray (Eddie Marsan) runs the Belfast branch of Northern Bank, and while his professional life is stable, his personal life is on the rocks, as his wife Celine (Eva Birthistle) is seeking a separation. The bank is also not doing well. Layoffs are coming, and worse, it’s Christmas. Maybe the branch Secret Santa party will help. Then there’s Barry McKenna (Éanna Hardwicke), who oversees the bank’s back-area maintenance. He lives with his mother and, at night, hangs out with his mates at the local bar. One of the regulars is a smooth operator called Ravel (Patrick O’Kane), and once he realizes that Barry has the keys to the bank’s vault, he becomes very interested in Barry’s life and loosens him up with a large stash of cocaine.
The next night, Ravel goes into action. Men posing as police knock on Richard’s door, claiming there’s been an accident. With guns drawn, Celine and Richard are taken hostage. Across town, Ravel’s other men force their way into Barry’s house and take his mother hostage as well. The terms delivered to both men are simple: the people they love survive the next day only if they follow instructions.
“…armed criminals decide that the easiest way into a vault is through the people who work there…”
The operation is simple. Richard and Barry are to enter the bank’s vault, steal millions, and deliver them to Ravel. The beauty of the plan is that none of Ravel’s men…or women has to set foot in the bank. How will Richard and Barry move the cash out? Ravel tells them to “figure it out.” The problem the duo is running into is the fact that there are people everywhere, and there are even more security cameras. Between them and any chance of survival stands Mags Fulton (Michelle Fairley), the bank’s sharp-eyed head of security, who knows every camera angle on the floor and does not miss much.
No Ordinary Heist was inspired by the real 2004 Northern Bank robbery. The broad plot points follow the real incident. My guess is that the difference is in the details, as names have been changed across the board. Writer/director Colin McIvor and co-writer Aisling Corristine tell the story of two very different men—Richard, in upper management, and Barry, in lower management—who try to work together to pull off the heist and save their loved ones. It’s interesting to watch their personalities clash and complement each other throughout the film.
It’s also a story of exactly what we’d do for our loved ones. It’s clear throughout the film that Richard’s wife and Barry’s mother were in real danger. Pulling off the heist is not easy, and it takes real stamina for both men to do what they know is wrong while figuring out how to commit the crime. McIvor and Corristine play with the idea of the men close to accomplishing the goal, only to have it snatched away at the last moment.
All this to say that No Ordinary Heist is a middle-class thriller, thrilling nonetheless. It’s a con put on by ordinary men, and Marsan and Hardwicke give incredible performances in what truly is no ordinary heist.
For screening information, visit the No Ordinary Heist official website.
"…Marsan and Hardwicke give incredible performances..."
