“The Guard is a fish-out-of-water story, an upside-down Irish Western, a crime drama, a diabolically self-aware comedy and a marvelously acted character study.” — Hitfix.com
Scabrous, profane, violent, verbally adroit and very often hilarious.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2011
The Guard 2011
Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, brother of playwright and In Bruges filmmaker Martin McDonagh, The Guard is indeed a close relation to the 2009 Festival hit. — BG
“‘What a beautiful day,’ sighs Brendan Gleeson’s unorthodox Irish cop. The fact that he’s saying this while high on acid at the scene of a car accident tells you everything you need to know about this 90s-style crimecomedy. Credit the extraordinary chemistry between Gleeson and co-star Don Cheadle… The way this duo sells the film’s Gaelic gallows humor, you wish they’d take the double act on the road.” — David Fear, Time Out NY
“McDonagh succeeds admirably in the unenviable task of refreshing the refried-onetoo- many-times buddy-cop genre, thanks to Brendan Gleeson. Gleeson stars as a hilariously sly and goofy Irish guard posted to the boondocks of the Connemara region inIreland. Gleeson’s guard relishes his near dictatorial authority over his tiny plot of nowhere with a good sense of humor and a dark ironic sense of justice… When a corpse shows up to provide some liveliness to a place whose dominant social event seems to be livestock molestation, the guard suddenly finds himself dealing with a professional if naive FBI agent (Don Cheadle) on the trail of drug smugglers…
Gleeson’s character has something of a long-suffering, unsung hero streak to him, and what could easily have been a routine cop comedy, even in indie form, becomes something more poignant and affecting. This is in no small part thanks to Gleeson’s sharp yet gentle performance – he’s three fingers of whiskey in your morning coffee.” — John Lopez, Vanity Fair