Movie Review – The Guard

The Guard (2011) – When an FBI agent (Don Cheadle) arrives in a small Irish village in pursuit of international drugs smugglers he discovers the local police (Brendon Gleeson) has his own way of doing things.  The button down Fed and the unconventional local member of the Irish Garda will find their own way towards bringing the bad guys down.

Don Cheadle is on my list of “actors I’ll watch in just about anything”.  He is almost always worth watching even when the material isn’t all that good.  Which is not the case here.  The story is wonderful and the interplay between and Gleeson (who has a long list of credits but is probably best known these days as “Mad Eye” Moody from the Harry Potter movies) is amazing.  Gleeson’s character, Gerry Boyle, has simply decided to make the best of being stuck in a tiny outpost.  He makes the law his own and has created quite an acceptable life out of it, in his opinion.  If the powers that be ever took a close look at it they would call him corrupt, but he takes no more than he needs and meets out a rough form of justice.  Cheadle’s by-the-book Everett is an annoyance and perfect foil for the local’s twisted sense of humor. The movie is Boyle’s from beginning to end.

This is a quirky, profane and sometimes violent little gem of a film.  Call it a fish out of water story, call it a black comedy, call it a fabulous directorial debut for screenwriter John Michael McDonagh.  It is all of that and more.  What it isn’t is some nice polite little comedy.  Like Boyle, “The Guard” intends to have its way with you and then move on.  Trust me you’ll love the experience. NOT a movie for the kiddies.

The movie was well received at Sundance but didn’t make much of a ripple among American audiences.  It was the highest grossing movie in Irish history when it came out and has done pretty well worldwide.

Rating – **** Recommended