Writer and director Colin McIvor talks to us about his new film, No Ordinary Heist (2026), inspired by the Northern Bank robbery of 2004. Starring Eddie Marsan, Éanna Hardwicke, Eva Birthistle, and Michelle Fairley – this is the story of two men caught up in a bank robbery as they try to save their families lives amongst dangerous thieves in Belfast.
In this interview, Colin McIvor discusses everything from his favourite shot in the film to exploring the heist movie genre, and what he hopes the audience takes away from his latest film. Read our interview below.
Hi Colin, how did the idea and plot behind No Ordinary Heist come to you? And do you have a personal connection to the real-life event itself? I know your previous film, Zoo (2017) was also set in Belfast – I was just wondering if you have a personal connection to this event?
I went to University in Belfast and went to art college. And I lived quite close to Belfast and grew up 20 miles north of Belfast. Although I was in between graphic design and filmmaking at the time. But I actually happened to pass the bank the morning after the robbery. It was always in my mind. The more I read about it whilst looking for other projects meant this one bubbled to the top.
I wrote a vomit draft. Then I put it into a scheme in a ‘Micro Budget’ scheme in London and it got through three or four rounds of judging. I thought, I’ve got something here. At that point I hooked up with my co-writer, Aisling Corristine from Southern Ireland. We had been sharing work back and forth for a couple of years before that. I thought she would be a great collaborator.
I have to mention the three producers – Ruth Carter, Damon Lane, and Johanna Hogan. The amount of work they’ve put in over the years to get this film off the ground has been unbelievable. In terms of my personal connection to the event, I grew up in Northern Ireland and everyone who grew up there around those times – they’ve all been touched by those troubles in some way. But the political aspect of it was never anything that I was interested in. Even with this story, I was more taken by the human story. The human spirit that was required with these two men fighting for their families’ lives. That’s what intrigued me.
For a film that is based on a true story, how much research went into No Ordinary Heist? Because I can imagine from the historical context that it is quite a lot. And also, from the archival footage added in.
After I wrote the vomit draft, I had read a couple of articles at that point and then there was a a book that I read as well. One half of the book was about the process of the robbery, and the second-half was about the political fallout. But I was only interested in the robbery and the intrigue of the two guys. I think when you’re writing something based on an historical event you never stop researching.
In 2024, it was the 20-year anniversary of the event so there was so much more information released in books, podcasts, and news articles. We were very close to being greenlit at that point. We were able to finesse the script a little more and tighten up on some of the more important real-life events that we wanted to add in. But because our film is ‘inspired by’ we never felt constrained by the ‘this happened and that happened.’ But we did love the ticking clock motif across the 48 hours. In particular the 24 hours in the bank, so that too was all very important.
So was the research spread across the producers as well? Was it something that you had involvement in?
Not particularly. If I found something of interest, it was mostly from myself or Aisling. But if I found something else of interest or there was a note that came back on the script, for example, from the producers, then I would share a little more about, ‘that actually happened and it happened this way.’ But a big part of being a writer is getting your ducks in a row and learning your facts. You need to know your facts and be the cleverest person in the room in terms of the details.
Did any heist genre movies inspire you to co-write this film? From Classic Cinema to modern-day films?
As I’m into cinema, you inevitably end up watching heist movies across the years. When I was debating whether to study graphic design or move into film it was around 1995. That was the incredibly famous year where some of the best movies ever were released like Heat (1995) and Pulp Fiction (1994). La Hain (1995) is a black-and-white French film, which just blew my mind. And all those things together sent me down the road to filmmaking. But heist as a genre with time being a big reference. But nothing really collateral.
I’m a big fan of Michael Mann’s movies and David Fincher. You can probably see in the colouring of some of the film there’s Michael Mann elements in there. When we found the vault, I was thinking this could be Fight Club (1999). In terms of the low ceilings and the claustrophobia. Once you realise, you’re in a genre, in terms of detail, you know what’s out there like Dog Day Afternoon (1975). But that’s not to say that’s my only genre, it just happened to be for this film.
Are there any core messages that you felt like you had to include in the story?
The big message is the human spirit. What we as humans can deliver when we’re put under pressure. That would be what I would hope people would take away from the film. But I also hope people take away that this was a true story. It’s art that is inspired by a true story. This event has happened to people in such a harrowing way. I didn’t want to get into the real people story and we changed their names. It’s a story of human spirit, and the fight for your loved ones.
Do you have a favourite scene from the film? And a second half to that question – are there any shots that you particularly found challenging and how did you work around that?
One of my favourite shots is the Steadicam shot where for the first time the two men are in the vault together. We Steadicam right through the little alleyways and into the fault with the money. That was a meticulous shot that we planned. In terms of very tough days or really challenging scenes, I would say the car scene. We ended up only having two takes of the entire dialogue because there were car issues.
Our entire day ran away from us, and it was heartbreaking. We thought we were going to lose that scene. But both Eddie (Marsan), Éanna (Hardwicke), and I were so determined. They just constantly rehearsed the scene in a separate car. And then when we finally got the car up and running, they jumped in and did it in two takes. The lighting was all wrong and all those things we would have fixed if we could have. But it all worked out in the end. It’s one of the more powerful scenes.
When I was watching your film, I was thinking did you get to talk to anyone directly connected to the 2004 bank robbery to help aid the realism behind the film?
What’s funny is that once the film was out there and anyone you did speak to about it, in some way, it touched their lives, even if they had say a £50 note from the bank. It’s one of those things like when there’s a bus crash and there ends up being 300 people on the bus, and everyone seems to have a story to tell about it. But we made a deliberate point not to go hounding the families of the real people. What they went through, in particular the wife was just incredibly harrowing. That’s just not something you would want to bring to people’s doors.
That’s why we changed the names and made it ‘inspired by.’ It was the same with Zoo (2017), even though it’s a very different film, we didn’t chase down the family. They eventually got in touch to say how delighted they were with the film. But I think at a certain point you know the troubles were really not a good thing here and a lot of people went through hell. That was a decision we made early on.
In terms of generations, is there anything that you would want different ages to take away from No Ordinary Heist? Because for someone like me, who is part of Generation Z, and for others who are born post-2004, is there anything that you would want them to take away from this film differently from say someone who was alive during the event?
It works on multiple levels. I’d like people to see that there’s another way of approaching a genre where it’s not guns blazing and car chases. There’s a human story behind all this. When you see Hollywood movies where everyone is getting shot up, with this story what I was interested in was the two men fighting for their lives over 24 hours. It’s a tough one, Hannah. You work so hard. When you work for years on projects, and you put it out there, you just hope that the various generations will ‘get it.’
I have a young niece who is 9 years-old and she watched No Ordinary Heist (2026) in the cinema a couple of months back and said, “that’s the best film I’ve ever seen.” She’s very on the ball and so she would let you know if she didn’t like the film. But it gives me hope that it will play to everyone. I think people who know film and people who understand and aren’t looking for the ‘popcorn explosion’-type movie, that may not work for them. But other people who are more purists about what cinema and the craft of it actually is – hopefully it will appeal to them.
I like the way that you’re taking a different approach because we see so many heist movies only take that one road, from having all the explosions and making sure that there’s so many action scenes. Whereas you’re taking it from a completely different angle, and I don’t think we’ve particularly seen that a lot in this genre.
That’s the point. First of all, we wouldn’t have had the budget to do it the way big Hollywood movies do it. So, we go into the ‘two hander’ sort of route. I was actually looking for something that could be a two-hander. Like a little chamber piece after I made Zoo (2017) and I watched Buried (2010), starring Ryan Reynolds where he’s buried in the desert and trapped in a coffin.
But I was just taken by how simple the economy of that story was and that’s what kept drawing me back to ‘those two guys were forced together in that vault, and they had to get the money right past security.’ I just felt like there was something there that we could do on a scale of an independent film. We’re proud and from the reviews that we’ve got. People seemed to have noticed and tapped into to the fact that it’s not your standard ‘gun blazing’ heist movie. And I’m happy with that.
The themes are very universal with how you come to the story on how those two families are at the centre and heart of the film. For the final question, what do you hope the audience will take away from your film?
It’s a very simple line. I hope people just enjoy the pressure cooker attention of the whole film and it leaves a little bit of permanence in the mind. You’re always looking for those little gems. You see something and no matter what the budget or who the cast is that you pass it on to someone else and say, ‘that’s really worth watching and it’s not what you think it’s going to be.’ You want to get the work out there to the audience. And finally, we are, which is lovely.
Thank you so much for talking with us, Colin!
No Ordinary Heist (2026) is released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland today.
You can read more exclusive interviews, including Conscious (2026) documentarian, Suki Chan here.
