Lynch, creature of home comforts

'Men definitely feel threatened by it,' admits Susan Lynch of Beautiful Creatures.

'But they shouldn't because it's so surreal. The violence has a heightened cartoon-ness.' In a story reminiscent of Thelma And Louise, Rachel Weisz plays a blonde, high-maintenance gangster's moll, but the driving force is Lynch, a flinty survivor battling drug abuse and domestic violence. Their break for freedom leads to a serio-comic killing spree in which most of the males end up badly. 'The huge attraction for me was the relationship between the women. It's about loyalty and how females have so much influence on each other.'

Lynch, 29, is the fifth and youngest child of an Irish father and Italian mother (her big brother, John, is also in the acting business). Her fast-growing credits include Cracker and Dangerous Lady on television and films such as The Secret Of Roan Inish, Downtime, Waking Ned and Nora, in which she played James Joyce's fiery mistress.

She recently left London for Newry near Corrinshego, the village in Co. Down where she grew up, to be near her family. 'I was having a bit of a twinkle with a guy from home but he's just a good friend now. I'm revelling in being single again.'

Despite the move, she made three more films last year: Morlang, a supernatural drama; Happy Now, a thriller with Ioan Gruffudd (from Hornblower and 102 Dalmatians); and From Hell, the story of Jack The Ripper in which she's a 'lesbian alcoholic prostitute' opposite Johnny Depp.

'I don't think I'll ever play the Irish girl next door. I'm very strong-featured and, I suppose, passionate, so I tend to get cast as character types. And anyway, the whole reason why I wanted to act was to dress up and become someone who's not like me. I'd like to play as many different women as I possibly can. And men too, if they're offered to me!'