John Michael McDonagh's Calvary is a mixed bag of ideas and executions; on one hand it's a higher reaching and higher serving film than 2011's The Guard yet the simple pleasures of its predecessor are lost here in a conflicting battle of existentialism and broad humour.
At one point Brendan Gleeson's priest - Father James Lavelle - says to another offended priest, "you just don't have integrity, that's the worst thing you could say to someone". Integrity is certainly something McDonagh and his brother Martin don't lack but here is an example of a filmmaker trying to have his cake and eat it. We know the brothers' penchant for the crass, but they're also capable of great pathos (most expertly shown in Martin McDonagh's In Bruges). To quote another famous priest - Robert Mitchum's Robert Powell in The Night Of The Hunter - is a clear battle of "right-hand-left-hand". On one hand is the introspective, brooding cinema of Ingmar Bergman, the transcendental formalism of Robert Bresson, and the equally formalist Carl Theodor Dreyer. On the other is an onslaught of obvious humour that offsets this drama asking what it means to be a priest today and what place God has in modern society.
Brendan Gleeson carries the film as effortlessly as one would expect. He makes Father James instantly recognisable and gruff, a man generally liked by the community and yet ostracised for his collar. His recovering daughter (Kelly Reilly) comes to stay with her family in this small Irish community as she gets over an attempted suicide. We never see the arrangement of her staying yet she is embraced with the calmness you might not expect from a father who's nearly lost his only child; we later find out they have lost their wife and mother, respectfully, in the past. Loss has permeated both their lives in different ways and so when death hangs above them they remain neutral as if in the company of a strange local in a dark pub. There's something beautifully serene and yet unsettling about this.
It's accurate to say that Calvary begins and ends with its most powerful and poignant scenes; the opening - a shocking confessional filmed with Gleeson in tight close up - is a straight faced and threatening scene as a formerly clergy abused child now adult vows that the Father will die in 7 days. The Guard had a sense of an impending showdown yet here the tone here is increasingly grave from the offset. The closing scene is a profound sweep over the lives of the film's players and their problems brought forward by the unfurling drama that shows the necessary impact of someone like Father James, believer or not.
Calvary ends up being two films trying to operate simultaneously and never really gelling. The comedy even when on target (it's not always) feels more like comic relief for the films larger overarching themes. On one hand it brings to mind Bergman's Winter Light and of Bresson's Diary Of A Country Priest - yet the drama omitted form these clear reference points are diluted and off-set by the periodic crass humour, never really allowing the film to fully consider its comedy or more importantly its questions of faith and its placement in the world today.
Out of the two films it tries to be, the one that works really works. John Michael McDonagh has followed in his brother's footsteps in that he's made a rather conflicted second feature, however unlike his brother there are elements within this follow up that take this beyond his debut. Some more direction might be needed for his third feature as the talent up on screen is undoubtable, though hopefully next time making a film with a clear path instead of making two films concurrently.
There's a point in The Guard where Don Cheadle's straight-laced FBI agent says to Brendan Gleeson's unorthodox Irish police officer, "I can't tell if you're real mother fucking dumb, or real mother fucking smart", an aspect of the film's hugely entertaining and magnetic antihero that is truly mysterious and one which baffles to the very end.
The Guard is written and directed by John Michael McDonagh; brother of Martin McDonagh who gave us the sublime In Bruges (2008) also starring Gleeson. Both films share the same tone and humour - blending severe black comedy and nihilism with moments of touching humanist qualities. Fans of the earlier film must make The Guard mandatory viewing.
Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) is introduced at the crash site of a fatal joy ride, he checks for signs of life amidst the young bodies all over the road with a cold indifference. He finds some ecstasy in one of the joy rider's pockets and without a second's thought puts one on his tongue. Boyle is a brash and ignorant man who only seems to enjoy life when in the company of his beloved prostitutes on his days off. As the film develops we see hidden layers revealed in Boyle's character that show him as a very different man than the one he like to show off.
The film's story is a simple one - FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) leads a team over to Ireland as they suspect a shipment of half a billions worth of cocaine will soon hit the shores of Galway. The men behind the shipment (Liam Cunningham and Mark Strong) dispose of Boyle's newly assigned partner by way of bad luck which leads Boyle to investigate. As Wendell finds himself well and truly out of his depth with the locals and he and Boyle's relationship becomes more respectful we're left with a film riddled with cliches and predictability saved by the sheer quality of McDonagh's writing. By the end of this Lethal Weapon meets Local Hero nothing has necessarily transpired that we didn't see coming but this isn't a problem thanks to a multilayered laugh-a-minute script that shows warmth and tenderness towards its characters. The Guard highlights the banality of the uninspired cookie cutter comedy drivel released these days.
Gerry Boyle is a joy to behold and is played note perfect by the brilliance of Brendan Gleeson. He is at times unlikable - narrow minded, thick skinned, smutty, and racist. As we're shown glimpses of this seemingly lonely man's life he becomes all the more endearing but more importantly fascinating. These glimpses come from Boyle visiting his terminally ill mother and the widow of his fallen partner. Boyle is compassionate and morally upstanding at heart and perhaps his throwaway attitude towards life comes from the realisation of life's often brutal nature, it's his way of coping and rebelling. By the end Boyle is the only cop Everett can trust.
The Guard is full of side splitting moments, my favourite being a tense moment in a restaurant as Boyle is given a tough ultimatum by a dangerous criminal; he just stares him down as he listens while downing his chocolate milkshake through a straw. The criminal leaves Boyle with his head in his hands seemingly out of despair, of course Boyle is just suffering from a self induced brain-freeze.
Moments such as these are at the heart of The Guard and make it an utter pleasure to sit through. Every character is immaculately conceived no matter what relevance they hold, Mark Strong's turn as a menacing 'heavy' equipped with philosophical meanderings is especially enjoyable. But no matter how good everyone is here, from fine performers such as Strong and Cheadle, The Guard is a success through the character of Sgt Gerry Boyle. A man to marvel at, to scratch your head over, and to warrant The Guard with many deserved repeat viewings.
For fans of: Fargo (1996), Hot Fuzz (2006), In Bruges (2008)
