The Guard

Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, Fionnula Flanagan

Dir. John Michael McDonagh
Scr. John Michael McDonagh

The Guard is a f**king good movie. Full of the essential three C’s of entertaining film making – character, circumstance and cracker dialogue. While a little light on plot and a little heavy on caricature, you will forgive The Guard all its sins and short-comings because you will simply be laughing too hard to care.

Irish Garda Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) is an unorthodox cop in a small coastal town outside of Galway, guided by his own rather interesting set of moral standards. When murder and drug smuggling descend on his sleepy town, he teams up with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) to bring down a gang of ruthless and not-so-mildly psychotic bad guys. It may sound like a paint-by-numbers buddy cop thriller, but it’s anything but. Boyle is so much more than his old, gruff, racist façade lets on. Everett is not quite the stereotypical by-the-book American lawman that everyone assumes he is. The triumvirate of baddies are just a little more wacky that you’d expect. It’s darkly and profanely funny in the same way as the brilliant In Bruges, which is obviously a family trait (writer, director John is brother of In Bruges writer, director Martin).

The acting in The Guard is top-notch. Some of the characters are more expertly fleshed out than others, but they are all interesting and surprising in their own way. Gleeson is the absolute star of the show. Crass and confrontational he seems to be able to do in his sleep. But Boyle is so much more than this and Gleeson’s weathered, lived in face captures it all. The scene in the pub with his dying mum (Flanagan) is heart-breaking. And he is utterly and absolutely hilarious. Cheadle is wonderful as, it seems at times, the only sane man in the village. In the more comic moments, he more than holds his own. Mark Strong, as the leader of the baddies, is his usual brilliant self. The group of talent on display and the fantastic range of personalities in The Guard more than makes up for anything lacking in the plot department.

And while on that subject, sure, you need to suspend disbelief right from the get-go. On the flip-side of this, we’re not bogged down with back-stories and details and whatnot. The Guard is neatly paced, with engaging changes in mood and focus. In turn, noir and offbeat and poignant. And the dialogue is simply and utterly wonderful – hugely quotable, at times shockingly inappropriate, always funny.

If you liked In Bruges, you’ll like The Guard. And while the latter is probably not as accomplished as the former, Gleeson’s Boyle will surprise and delight. One word of warning: if you’re not a fan of the f-word, best you stay away.

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Sergeant Gerry Boyle: I’m Irish. Racism is part of my culture.