Irina Palm

R

Released Mar 21, 2008

1h 43m

Comedy

Drama

List

65%

49 Reviews

Tomatometer

77%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) is a middle-aged London woman who learns that her grandson requires an expensive operation. After experiencing setback after setback in her efforts to scrape together the cash, Maggie finds a job at a sex shop owned by Miki (Miki Manojlovic) where she services customers through a hole in the wall. Her particular talent earns her the name "Irina Palm." The money starts to roll in -- but will she earn enough in time to help her grandson?

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Critics Consensus

A strong performance from Faithfull anchors this perverse and lethargic -- but ultimately thought-provoking -- Garbarski drama.

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Audience Member

Una premisa interesante, pero pudo haber sido aprovechada mejor, con un poco más de humor y diálogos más elaborados.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A monotonous and repetitive story, unsympathetic characters, awkward and unrealistic dialogue, delivered by actors with no sense of timing or expression, poorly edited and sprayed with the a single angsty guitar twang music loop which does nothing to add drama to this horrible film. The story can be summarised in a single line of dialogue: "He's dying. I'm wanking. It's a mess." A skilled actor might make something out of this unnatural utterance, but Faithfull delivered it so flatly it made me squirm. We couldn't make it to the end, and I regret wasting two euros and an hour of my life on it. I guess a vaguely naughty plot appealed to puerile audiences in Berlin, and American audiences swallowed it as an arty European indie flick. It isn't - it is artless nonsense.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The name of "mother" is always great. Someday if I become a mother, I will definitely understand how she felt. The love story disturbs that greatness. Friendship may be relevant for the mood of this movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The topic is interesting, but the story is developed in a simple way and seems completely predictable but not believable. It's clear from the beginning where the director wants to take the movie, but doesn't do anything to do it properly. In the end it's just something like: it had to go this way, so I made it go this way. Well...not a good starting point I think!

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's even better if the viewer is a single woman over 40. It's a quirky subject matter " pulled off" well.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/16/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very strange tale of a grandmothers battle for money to send her ill grandson to australia for treatment.She ends up working in a sex club.Very well delivered underated british drama

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/08/23

Full Review

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Sam Garbarski

Director

Marianne Faithfull

Maggie aka Irina Palm

Miki Manojlovic

Miki

Kevin Bishop

Tom

Siobhan Hewlett

Sarah

Dorka Gryllus

Luisa

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Critics Consensus: Drillbit Taylor Flunks; Guess Shutter‘s and Meet the Browns‘ Tomatometer!

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

This is a terrible, preposterous film that is also horrible and hateful and has the worst soundtrack ever; the same four doomy notes played loudly and over and over.

Aug 23, 2018

Full Review

David Jenkins

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 18, 2011

Full Review

Andrea Gronvall

Time Out

Rated: 4/5

Nov 17, 2011

Full Review

Martin Tsai

New York Sun

At times, it feels as though Mr. Garbarski needs to lighten up, given that the screenplay is just too full of gaping holes — logistic and otherwise — for anyone to take his film that seriously.

Apr 21, 2023

Full Review

Enrique Buchichio

Uruguay Total

Un drama sensible y austero, no exento de cierto sentido del humor, que deja de lado cualquier aspecto sórdido del asunto para concentrarse en una historia de amor y sacrificio.

Rated: 3/5

Dec 4, 2008

Full Review

Matthew Turner

ViewLondon

Engaging, enjoyable and quietly thought-provoking British drama with a refreshingly offbeat script and a great central performance from Marianne Faithfull.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 18, 2008

Full Review

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Synopsis

Maggie (Marianne Faithfull) is a middle-aged London woman who learns that her grandson requires an expensive operation. After experiencing setback after setback in her efforts to scrape together the cash, Maggie finds a job at a sex shop owned by Miki (Miki Manojlovic) where she services customers through a hole in the wall. Her particular talent earns her the name "Irina Palm." The money starts to roll in -- but will she earn enough in time to help her grandson?

Director: Sam Garbarski
Screenwriter: Philippe Blasband, Sam Garbarski, Martin Herron
Distributor: Strand Releasing
Production Co: Région Wallone, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Communauté Française de Belgique, Samsa Film, Entre Chien et Loup, Future Films, Pallas Film, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, Ipso Facto Films, Filmförderungsanstalt, Le Tax Shelter du Gouvernement Fédéral de Belgique, Liaison Cinématographique, Ateliers de Baere, Fonds Eurimages du Conseil de l'Europe, RTBF, Film Fund Luxembourg, Canal+
Rating: R (Nudity|Language|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 13, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.1K
Runtime: 1h 43m

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