“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
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