Diagonaldi Very well executed

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

merklekranz First, "Rat" gets extra points for a very original screenplay. The fine acting is what carries this unique comedy, because the only way "Rat" works is if the characters come across as dead serious, which they do. Any decent into slapstick would have been disastrous. Another plus is the unique camera angles giving a rat's point of view. Different reactions of the various family members, to what is obviously a highly unusual situation, fuels this dark comedy. In order for a black comedy to work, it must be outrageous, not mean spirited, and deadly serious, and "Rat succeeds on all counts. I liked this clever and highly original comedy. - MERK

Bockharn When the father of a Dublin family is transformed into a rat, the family dynamic changes not at all! The daughter is still Daddy's Little Girl, the son -- Pius! -- is piously creepy, his vocation to the priesthood notwithstanding, and the mother alternates (as usual) between wild-eyed outrage and sentimental tears. Writer, director and cast all seem to be making the same movie -- a dissection of some of the more peculiar aspects of the Irish "character" with some of the insight of Huston's/Joyce's THE DEAD -- and even more laughs. Imelda Staunton is devastatingly funny as the mother who views her husband's transformation as just the latest in a series of crosses she's had to bear. Certainly this movie is not for all tastes, and I can imagine that some viewers would be simply baffled. It helps if you DO understand (sort of) why anyone would name their son "Pius." But if you're Irish-American and have mixed feelings (are there any other kind?) about your "heritage," just sit back and enjoy!

the_elf23 This movie is despicable. It's bad-humored. It's extremely painful. It's discouraging. I went to bed so disappointed and angry I thought I'd have night terrors.It could have been so good! I don't know how you mess up a plot the way they did! The crew had to consist of the least funny people in the world! There isn't a single character and not a single joke.It's baffling!

Aidan Og Madden How many Irish films can succeed without resorting to "faith an' begorrah" cliches? RAT doesn't. Veteran writer Wesley Burrowes has written a wildly whimsical moral tale that laughs in the face of miserable, self-pitying Irish drama with his story of the tragedy that befalls a home which the man of the house turns into a rodent. Beautifully balancing the bizarre and the mundane, this is a film that the great Irish humourist Flann O'Brien could have made. The performances are great (including the rat, courtesy of Jim Henson's company) and the cast includes Pete Postletwaite (In The Name of the Father, Brassed Off, etc), Imelda Staunton (Shakespeare in Love, Sense and Sensibility, etc), Frank Kelly (best known as 'Father Jack'), Niall Toibin (in rattling good form as the priest) and comedian Ed Byrne (although his role is a minor one, and, oddly, he doesn't get any good lines). The soundtrack by Bob Geldof and Pete Briquette perfectly capture the mock-horror of the storyline. The details of the story? Go and see it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.