Australia's Best Movie Magazine

Film reviews

Men In Black 3

It’s not a sequel that needed to be made, but thanks to the charm of its leads and a tone that harks back to the wit and humour of the original, it’s a pretty enjoyable trip.

Bel Ami

The excellent female support cast saves this patchy effort, which is let down by its leading man and a flat screenplay.

The Dictator

A disappointing, often repulsive and mean-spirited mess of a film with seemingly only one real criterion on its agenda: to shock and offend.

The Woman In Black

Packed with atmosphere, this old-fashioned but deftly told ghost story delivers ample chills and thrills.

search the site

Enter search term:

newsletter

Enter your email address below to receive the weekly Filmink newsletter

Enter search term:

The Guard (Film)

by Emmet O'Cuana | August 22, 2011 14:31 | Edited August 22, 2011 15:33

Driven by pitch-perfect performances and a darkly humoured script, this ends up an hysterically funny and immensely enjoyable romp.

First-time director John Michael McDonagh opens his film with joyriders speeding through the landscape of the Irish west coast, with N.E.R.D.'s "Rock Star" blaring on the soundtrack. This new Irish film is another of a recent wave of energetic pictures from the small island specialising in black comedy and crime, best exemplified by the surprise hit, In Bruges (directed by McDonagh's brother, Martin).  

 

Star Brendan Gleeson has become something of a good luck charm for these films, often playing small-time criminals, or hitmen. He stars here as Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a foul-mouthed, drug-taking, abrasive country cop with a fondness for prostitutes who is nevertheless the only honest policeman in the west of Ireland willing to stand up to a gang of drug traffickers. FBI agent Wendell Everett (executive producer Don Cheadle) is initially frustrated by the gabby Paddy's fecklessness, but eventually finds him to be an unlikely ally when faced by institutional corruption within the police force.

 

The Guard's self-aware script draws attention to the fish-out-of-water circumstances of Everett's presence in Co. Galway, and he is repeatedly asked, in a nod to The Silence Of The Lambs, if he works in behavioural science. Liam Cunningham and Mark Strong are excellent as philosophical gang members who indulge in protracted discussions on morality, with the latter at one point ranting about the use of Americanisms in dialogue. Gleeson's performance is delightful, and his interactions with Cheadle and Cunningham, in particular, take full advantage of the quick-witted script. The film allows the characters plenty of room to breathe, with Boyle and Everett enjoying a night on the beer, and an initial confrontation between the police and Cunningham's gang leader descending into a discussion of the meaning behind the lyrics to Bobbie Gentry's "Ode To Billie Joe." Endlessly quotable and hysterically funny, The Guard is a truly exciting debut.