There is always a certain wham bam in the cheeky gangster Brit flick arena. The desire to ape the slicker Hollywood productions but without comparative budget leads to leaning heavily on attitude.
However, such events rarely take place in such a parochial setting as rural Ireland, and so Pixie struts in with guns, drugs, priests, and its eponymous star.
What Is Pixie About?
That priests are so synonymous with the Irish is mined for a good central joke here. After a botched heist deprives the local drug ring (ran by members of the clergy) of a sizeable amount of MDMA, the race is on to flog it for a profit ASAP.
Through a series of unfortunate events involving vehicular violence, unrequited lust, and fashion photography, that bag lands in the hands of local pub dwellers Frank (Ben Hardy) and Harland (Daryl McCormack).
Thankfully for them, Pixie – the step-daughter of a local gangster (Olivia Cooke) – has the wherewithal and drive to get them on the road.
So follows a rural Trainspotting-esque jaunt to flee the dangers and flog the drugs. Our central trio has plenty of chemistry to keep things energetic, thanks in no small part to a screen-igniting presence from Cooke.
By coquettishly manipulating the attraction of Frank and playing him off the more straight laced Harland, the give and take between this tumultuous triumvirate revolves around Cooke’s ability to hold court with her suitors, and the screen.
Pixie Official Trailer
Is Pixie Worth Watching?
Truth be told the road trip is thin on the ground, acting as an excuse to squeal from scene to scene with the back drop of looming doom approaching.
Colm Meaney (Pixie’s gangster step-father) bubbles with reluctant danger in the face of potential truce destruction, with an air-dropped Alec Baldwin as his opponent. As our central young cast drive away, danger is only a few miles behind.
Pixie suffers from a few lapses into laddish comedy. Given the leading performance of Cooke these moments stand out as unnecessarily coarse (like Frank extolling the virtues of sex to a young celibate priest-in-training) although thankfully are relatively few.
Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody) and McCormack (Peaky Blinders, A Very English Scandal) bring a hapless energy to the mix that manages to override such lapses in the script.
Pixie succeeds by the strength of its modern femme fatale lead. Cooke embodies a wry knowledge that will manipulate with kindness or cruelty as deserved, all in service to a decent payoff.
Her character is well rounded and given all due background, unlike the two male leads stuck to her by circumstance and deference. That it all culminates in a church shoot out is tonally on point.
St. Trinian’s director Barnaby Thompson may borrow liberally from other Brit heist movies (a dash of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, a hint of Trainspotting, a splash of In Bruges) but in the mix are some good gags and support performances; Dylan Moran as a sarcastic criminal is the guest appearance you never knew you wanted!
Pixie takes a handful of pixie dust and blows it into your eyes; by the time you see the flashes of glass within it is too late.
Words by Mike Record
