Another Irish movie roll’s into cinemas. It’s not about the war. It’s not about the famine. It’s an actual comedy. And let’s face it, with few exceptions the Irish film industry isn’t exactly known for comedy after comedy. As a matter of fact, comedic Irish films that hit the big screen are quite sporadic. Every few years something lands and this year, It’s The Guard.
Starring a brilliantly assembled cast which includes Brendan Gleeson (as Sgt. Gerry Boyle), Don Cheadle (FBI agent), Mark Strong and Liam Cunningham (both playing your friendly drug traffickers) amongst others. The Guard follows the life of Gerry Boyle. The local sergeant in the west of Ireland who, shall we say, runs things a little bit different. Most of his time is spent, as he would say himself, whooring around and getting fucked up. A drug shipment of $500 billion is about to land and the FBI turn up to try and nail it down, with the assistance (or lack of) of Sgt Boyle. That’s the basis of the story, as for the actual film itself….
The Guard is a non stop laugh out loud comedy with a really genuine heart at it’s core. It’s not slapstick comedy and it’s not full of one liners just for the sake of it. The script (by John Michael McDonagh) is incredibly organic. Nothing about this movie feels forced or contrived. But as we all know, every good script needs a good bunch of actors to make it work. And work this does! Don Cheadle, plays the role of the FBI agent brilliantly. He’s got that real American arrogance thing working really, really well. And at times, his uncomfortable demeanour is almost too good to be true. Mark Strong is used to playing the bad guy role, and while his on screen time is limited, it’s hard to find fault with what he does. That said, I’d imagine he can do these kinds of roles in his sleep. Same goes for Liam Cunningham. Superb timing and utterly convincing as a hardened, culture obsessed bad guy. But for me, Brendan Gleeson is simply mind-blowing. It could have been so easy to dial this performance in, and even get away with it, but Gleeson electrifies the screen with his character. He brings a multi dimensional performance to Gerry Boyle and has completely humanised this lonesome individual. Honestly, you have to see his performance to understand. The uniform, the attitude and language are all spot on and are incredibly natural. It’s so good, it’s quite hard to spot the actual “actor” at times because the performance is that convincing.
The dialogue is incredibly snappy and brilliantly realised. The laughs come at you thick and fast, but when things slow down it never feels like a sudden grinding gear change. It’s smooth and subtle. The movie might hang ever so slightly in the middle and drag it’s heels a wee bit but nothing too major. The ending again, like the majority of the movie is brilliant. Not an arse left the seat even when the credits rolled!
If there is one Irish movie, actually hang on. If there is ONE movie you have got to see this year, it’s The Guard. It is one of the finest Irish films for years and highlights what an amazing bunch of talent we have in the country. There is something here for everyone. Sure it’s a comedy, but it has a huge heart at it’s very core that will grip you and not let go. Simply brilliant and a MUST see!!!!
