Starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan
Anyone wanting a repeat of In Bruges may be disappointed. Already the fact that Gleeson is holding a dark comedy is enough to sway the audience to believe that.
But that shouldn't stop the audience from going to see it.
Gleeson, not a bad mark on his career, takes his time preparing himself for the laughs. Which aren't out loud. But they aren't absent either. The Guard is a general Irish humour film. Where naughty language and the imagination of outrageous goings on are rampant. One could even fall into old memories of Father Ted. His character, Sergeant Gerry Boyle, is an old fashioned, corrupt, yet heart of gold type.
Cheadle, the FBI agent one the trail of drug smugglers, finds himself in Gleeson's shadow, and doesn't do much to get out of it. Maybe he realises himself it's going to be a tough job. Oh, and I suppose catching criminals is a bit difficult as well. Especially when the Irish loud mouth Boyle finds himself more interested in his day off, which becomes a shock of someone prioritising holidays over work. We can't all be workaholics.
The Guard is probably, secretly, a buddy movie. But it holds on to its secret pretty well by not giving the two main leads enough screen time. I say this is good, because the whole thing could have been a dreadful Hollywood wannabe otherwise.
There's probably not enough blood or violence to warrant it as one of the meaner stories of Irish crime, but it's certainly got a mouth on it. And Gleeson has the film's heart on him.
4/5
If you like this you should try:
Divorcing Jack (1999) 4/5
Waking Ned (1999) 5/5
In Bruges (2008) 4/5
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