# Ordinary Decent Criminal
**Ordinary Decent Criminal** is a 2000 crime comedy film directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge, and starring [Kevin Spacey](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-spacey) as Michael Lynch, a flamboyant Dublin gangster loosely based on the real-life criminal [Martin Cahill](https://www.edgepedia.org/martin-cahill).[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611) • [2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) The cast also includes [Linda Fiorentino](https://www.edgepedia.org/linda-fiorentino), Helen Baxendale, Peter Mullan, Stephen Dillane, David Hayman, and Colin Farrell.[3](https://www.miramax.com/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal/) The film was a critical failure, holding a 14 percent Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it received no theatrical release in the United States.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Thaddeus O'Sullivan; screenplay by Gerard Stembridge[1](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611) |
| Lead cast | Kevin Spacey (Michael Lynch), Linda Fiorentino (Christine), Helen Baxendale (Lisa), Stephen Dillane (Noel Quigley), Peter Mullan (Stevie), Colin Farrell (Alec)[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611/fullcredits/) |
| Basis | Loosely based on Dublin gangster Martin Cahill, the third screen version of his life after *The General* (1998) and the BBC film *Vicious Circle*[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) |
| Release | UK theatrical release 17 March 2000; released straight to video in the United States in January 2003[6](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal) |
| Runtime and rating | About 93 minutes; rated R in the US and 15 certificate in the UK[7](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal) • [8](https://digiguide.tv/programme/Film/Ordinary-Decent-Criminal/63940/) |
| Music | Damon Albarn[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) |
| Reception | 14% Tomatometer (7 reviews), 60% Popcornmeter on Rotten Tomatoes; UK gross £80,444[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal) • [6](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Michael Lynch is Dublin's most notorious criminal, a hero to working-class Northsiders and a persistent embarrassment to the police.[3](https://www.miramax.com/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal/) He lives with two wives, who are sisters, Christine and Lisa, and plots elaborate heists with as much attention to showmanship as to the loot.[3](https://www.miramax.com/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal/) His crimes include ordinary bank jobs, robbing his own dole office, and a daylight robbery of a precious [Caravaggio](https://www.edgepedia.org/caravaggio) painting.[9](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93871--ordinary-decent-criminal/)
The policeman Noel Quigley, played by [Stephen Dillane](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-dillane), becomes obsessed with convicting Lynch.[3](https://www.miramax.com/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal/) Lynch's decision to taunt the police with the theft of an unsellable Caravaggio painting undermines his [Robin Hood](https://www.edgepedia.org/robin-hood) persona, alienates his gang, and draws the attention of the IRA as well as the Gardaí.[10](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal) The stolen painting, *The Taking of Christ*, cannot be sold, giving Quigley the opportunity he has waited for, and Lynch is forced to go on the run.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal)
## Relationship to Martin Cahill
The film is one of three screen versions of the life of Martin Cahill, the Dublin criminal assassinated by the IRA in 1994, who became a folk-hero figure through his defiance of the law.[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) [John Boorman](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-boorman)'s *[The General](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-general-1998-film)*, which played in competition at Cannes in 1998, and the BBC television movie *Vicious Circle* preceded it.[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) The filmmakers renamed the protagonist Michael Lynch and claimed Cahill was no more than a starting point, but reviewers noted that the film covers substantially the same ground as *The General*: the ménage à trois with two sisters, the habit of concealing his face, clashes with the IRA, the climactic heist of a famous painting, and the love-hate relationship with the detective assigned to his case.[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article)
In an interview, O'Sullivan said his film was made concurrently with Boorman's and that the two productions simply avoided releasing at the same time; he described his own approach as deliberately fictional, stretching and transforming the known facts of Cahill's life rather than making a documentary-style portrait.[11](https://www.artechock.de/film/text/interview/o/osullivan_2000.html) Producer Jonathan Cavendish likewise insisted that "our film isn't about Martin Cahill," saying that many incidents and all the character names had been changed.[12](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/general-release-1.141387)
## The title term
"Ordinary decent criminal" is Irish slang for criminals not affiliated with any paramilitary organization. The term gained popularity during the Troubles, when calling non-paramilitary prisoners "decent" commented on how differently paramilitary prisoners were treated from ordinary criminals.[13](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=ouhonors1461339256&disposition=inline) The film's marketing tagline played on the phrase: "Crime doesn't pay ... but it can be a lot of fun".[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article)
## Production and release
The film was developed by Little Bird Productions, whose producer James Mitchell had announced the project as early as 1997 as a purely fictional film loosely inspired by the character of the General, written by Gerry Stembridge and directed by O'Sullivan in his fourth drama for the company.[12](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/general-release-1.141387) It was produced by Little Bird in association with Tatfilm and Trigger Street Productions, with participation from the Greenlight Fund, the Irish Film Board, and Filmstiftung NRW, and sold internationally by Icon Entertainment International.[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) Kevin Spacey was cast in the lead shortly after winning an Oscar for *The Usual Suspects*.[14](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/spacey-to-play-role-of-dublin-crime-boss/26187278.html)
The film was shot in late 1998 and originally scheduled for a fall 1999 release; it opened overseas in 2000 but never received a proper theatrical release in the United States, going straight to video there in January 2003.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal) In the United Kingdom it debuted at number 11 on 17 March 2000 with a gross of £80,444 and spent one week on the chart.[6](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal)
## Reception
Critical response was largely negative. Peter Bradshaw of *The Guardian* called it "a boring and unfunny movie" that sentimentalizes violent criminals, criticizing a world in which Spacey's gang waves guns around without ever hurting civilians.[15](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/mar/17/culture.reviews4) Sheila Johnston in *Screen Daily* judged it a lightweight caper that eschews the cruelty, moral complexity, and tragic conclusion of *The General*, and noted Spacey's "peculiar Irish accent".[2](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article) *Time Out* called the film belated and superfluous, pitched between cartoonish caper and knockabout farce, with an uneven tone compounded by [Damon Albarn](https://www.edgepedia.org/damon-albarn)'s jaunty soundtrack.[10](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 14 percent Tomatometer from 7 reviews against a 60 percent audience Popcornmeter score.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal) Reviewers repeatedly singled out the American leads' Irish accents for criticism.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal)
## References
1. [Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611)
2. [Sheila Johnston, "Ordinary Decent Criminal", Screen Daily, 7 March 2000](https://www.screendaily.com/ordinary-decent-criminal/401658.article)
3. [Ordinary Decent Criminal, Miramax official site](https://www.miramax.com/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal/)
4. [Ordinary Decent Criminal, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/ordinary-decent-criminal)
5. [Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), Full cast & crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611/fullcredits/)
6. [Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), SaltyPopcorn box office data](https://www.saltypopcorn.co.uk/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal)
7. [Ordinary Decent Criminal streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/ordinary-decent-criminal)
8. [Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000), Digiguide](https://digiguide.tv/programme/Film/Ordinary-Decent-Criminal/63940/)
9. [Ordinary decent criminal, ACMI collection](https://www.acmi.net.au/works/93871--ordinary-decent-criminal/)
10. [Ordinary Decent Criminal film review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ordinary-decent-criminal)
11. [Thaddeus O'Sullivan interview, artechock, 4 May 2000](https://www.artechock.de/film/text/interview/o/osullivan_2000.html)
12. [Michael Dwyer, "General release", The Irish Times](https://www.irishtimes.com/news/general-release-1.141387)
13. [Ohio State University honors thesis on prison administration during the Troubles](https://etd.ohiolink.edu/acprod/odb_etd/ws/send_file/send?accession=ouhonors1461339256&disposition=inline)
14. ["Spacey to play role of Dublin crime boss", Irish Independent, 19 May 1998](https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/spacey-to-play-role-of-dublin-crime-boss/26187278.html)
15. [Peter Bradshaw, "Ordinary Decent Criminal", The Guardian, 16 March 2000](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/mar/17/culture.reviews4)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2000–2004 films › Released 2000 to 2002*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license