Calvary

Watched this at Sundance Festival. Brilliant film. Some of the dialog is a bit lost on US audience but still some hilarious lines. This is much darker than The Guard and In Bruges (I know it's a different writer/director) but very similar humor. But this has some very powerful scenes (particularly the one with the lady who loses her husband). It also tackles some serious questions on the church and priesthood after the scandals around the world; really makes you think about the plight of decent priests. Gleeson pulls off the part of innocent priest paying for the sins of others excellently.

The music is amazing throughout. Also the scenery is incredible - made me miss home!

Excellent performances by Pat Short and Dylan Moran. Brendan Gleeson is just Brendan Gleeson, my favorite Irish actor (after Daniel Day Lewis of course)

This is well worth seeing. If your a fan of the McDonaghs stuff you'll love this. And what a great ending!

A timely title for Holy Week. Father James (Brendan Gleeson), a village priest in a coastal village in Ireland, is told in the confessional that one of his parishioners is going to kill him. The man was abused by a priest for five years as a child; that priest has died, but killing the innocent Father James will be revenge for the other priests's abuse of an innocent boy.

A challenging set-up for a movie, especially one which sells itself as a comedy - albeit a very dark comedy. With Father James we meet most of the locals, a sinful lot for such a small village. The butcher who beats his two-timing wife; the aggressive local publican; the cynical doctor; the alcoholic landowner; the police inspector with a taste for rent-boys; an ancient exiled American writer (M. Emmet Walsh).

Having been married (and widowed) before he answered the Call, Father James has an unhappy daughter (Kelly Reilly) down from the big city, her wrists bandaged from a suicide attempt. A week after the woeful NOAH, I half expected a Flood to overwhelm the village, full as it was of folk sliding into wickedness. The central mystery of which of them has threatened the priest is a bit of a cheat, since surely he would have recognised the voice in the confessional.

The dark mountains and pounding seas which sandwich the village are as atmospherically filmed as they were in David Lean's RYAN'S DAUGHTER, and a fine score boosts the film's seesaw moves between comedy and tragedy. The script is clumsy in parts, but the actors carry us over the bumps. Brendan Gleeson is on splendid form (I wish he'd played Noah last week!) and the rest of the cast turn in believable performances. There is no comedy in the bleak finale. This is a dark and disturbing low-budget movie which, like PHILOMENA, will linger in the mind long after multi-million-dollar blockbusters have faded into a CGI haze.

Greetings again from the darkness. Writer/director John Michael McDonagh and actor Brendon Gleeson re-team (The Guard, 2011) in what can be viewed as one giant leap for both filmmaker and actor. Mr. McDonagh is immensely talented and seems to be a natural at keeping his viewers unsure of what's coming.

Set and filmed in a western Irish coastal town, the film has a most unusual first scene, including an acknowledgment of such as the priest (Gleeson) says "Certainly a startling opening line". This occurs in the confessional with an extreme close-up as the unseen (by us) parishioner then says "I'm going to kill you Father". With Sunday week as the promised deadline, the movie follows the Priest with a placard for each day, as he makes his way through the maze of local town characters. He also receives a visit from his daughter (Kelly Reilly), fresh off a suicide attempt (he was married prior to joining the priesthood).

The film bounces from very dark humor to extreme philosophical and theological discussions between the town folks and the priest. We quickly learn what a good man he is, and struggle to understand why the locals flash such vitriol his way. The Catholic Church, and all that implies these days, certainly plays a key role, but more than that, this is about the make-up and character of people.

This is not the place to go into detail about the story, as the film is best unwrapped and interpreted by each viewer. What can be said is that this is exceptional filmmaking: it's well directed, beautifully photographed, superbly acted, has a terrific script, and encourages much discussion.

At the end of the film I reflected that this was a far bigger film that I had been expecting. The issues explored in the film really do come together at the end. The credits roll silently and I noticed that the full cinema was very quiet and remained so for a much longer time than usual.

The problems in the Catholic church have had repercussions and this parish in Sligo is losing its faith. This loss of faith is portrayed very vividly, it is expressed more strongly than in reality I think.

The film revolves around the character of Father James Lavelle played powerfully by Brendan Gleeson. As Father James visits his parishioners there is much humour, often quite dark. The script has many choice lines. A man arrives to give a lift to a female parishioner who has been sexually promiscuous and she says "here is my ride".

Father James Lavelle is a likable priest, grappling with applying the church's teachings in the modern world. It is a thankless task and always his objective is undermined by the failures of the church itself. Father James's character is contrasted with that of a younger priest he shares the parish with (David Wilmot). The younger priest is very much part of the institution of the church and his loyal naïvety is humorous and infuriating.

Father James' life is threatened at the beginning, but this film is not a detective story, it is not Father Brown. Father James knows who threatened him but we the audience are not let in on the secret. The logic behind the threat is described ingeniously as events in the film come to a head at the end.

¨ I've always felt there's something inherently psychopathic about joining the army in peace time.¨

Calvary is director, John Michael McDonagh's followup to 2011's The Guard which also happened to star Brendan Gleeson in the lead role. This time Gleeson plays a Catholic Priest named Father James who is threatened during a confession by someone who we don't get to see. This man claims to have been sexually molested by a Priest several times as a kid and although Father James is a good and decent Priest he must take the fall in order for a statement to be made. Father James is given one week (or so this man claims) before being killed on the following Sunday on the beach. The father is troubled by this threat but he must continue doing his parish work during the remaining course of the week. We follow him as he has some deep conversations with the different members of the small Irish town they live in. It's a very interesting premise that hooks you from the start and has you wondering which of all the troubled people in the town might be the one who has threatened this goodhearted Priest. However the film works just as fine without that premise because the interactions between these characters is the true center of the story. These are all broken men and women who the Father interacts with and most of the conversations are deep and spiritual. Calvary isn't a film about religion, but it does have some important things to say about faith and virtues. It is very well written by McDonagh and the screenplay is rich in dark comedy; perhaps one of the best things about this movie. This is a film that could be very easily adapted to a stage play because the written material is superb and carries the movie on its own. Calvary also benefits from the beautiful scenery of the Irish coast line and a wonderful supporting cast. This is a film that sticks with you and one I wouldn't mind watching again.

Brendan Gleeson is a fantastic actor and one wishes he continue to collaborate with director McDonagh. I remembered he also gave a fantastic performance in In Bruges, which ironically was written and directed by John McDonagh's brother. These guys are great writers and know how to include a lot of wit in their dialogues. The rest of the cast is fantastic as well. Kelly Reilly plays Fiona, Father James's daughter (I know you might be thinking what is a Priest doing with a daughter because I asked myself the same question, but we quickly find out that James was once married and when his wife died he became a Priest). She is going through some difficult times, and James is trying to help her find answers. Chris O'Dowd also gives a terrific performance as one of the members from the parish whose wife is having an affair with an African man, but he seems OK with this because he can finally enjoy his freedom. Aidan Gillen (from Game of Thrones) plays the Atheist doctor, while Emmet Walsh is an old writer who is well aware that he's approaching death. These are just some of the people that Father James deals with in his community and each interaction is very rich and profound. There is plenty of dark humor balanced with a great amount of spiritual questions. I was pleasantly surprised with how well the material was handled. I can't even remember when was the last time that a Priest was portrayed so well on screen. Calvary is a powerful film with great performances and some sharp writing, and that is why this is one of the must see films of 2014. All I know is that after watching this I was desperate to get my hands on The Guard which I haven't had a chance to see but definitely will now. I highly recommend Calvary.