The Guard

If you think of two male actors as physically opposed as possible then The Guard’s central pairing of Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle would be near the top of the list. However, despite the marketing campaign hinting at it, John Michael McDonagh’s film isn’t really a buddy movie at all, though the scenes where Gleeson and Cheadle interact are great fun to watch. This is basically a star vehicle for Gleeson, playing Gerry Boyle, an Irish policeman who takes drugs from dead bodies, spends his afternoons with prostitutes and sells guns to the IRA (keep your eyes peeled here for an appearance from an actor who played a well remembered character in Father Ted). Sounds a bit like a certain Harvey Keitel / Nicolas Cage character, huh? Don’t be fooled though. Firstly, Boyle is a Sergeant (boom boom), and secondly, McDonagh’s screenplay keeps Boyle just on the right side of the line. Though his life of “routine” is soon interrupted by the arrival of FBI Agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle) and his attempts to stop an international drug smuggling ring. First of all this is a film with an outrageously dry sense of humour. It’s been billed as a black comedy, but it doesn’t really play as one, especially as the more harsh comic moments don’t work all that well. What it does have is Gleeson delivering his lines in such a deadpan manner that for the first 30 minutes of the film it’s just as difficult for the audience as well as Cheadle’s character to work out if Gleeson is being serious or not. The script itself isn’t actually all that original, but its credit to McDonagh that he still gets the laugh out of obvious scenes, such as Everett’s interactions with the local population. Mark Strong pops up to continue his run of appearing in every film ever made, but his role as a philosophical heavy falls flat and, in fact, the villains of the film are actually its weakest link. This also highlights why this shouldn’t be compared with the superior In Bruges, as that film had two strong leads (you can’t really call Cheadle a lead here) and a strong villain in Ralph Fiennes. What this film does have though is a fine performance from Gleeson. Actually, it’s fantastic, and gets better as the film goes on until by the end you can read Boyle’s emotions just from his eyes and an end scene that hints at The Wild Bunch’s march to their fate is emotionally charged. Throw in some great cinematography and a pay off that is as smart as it is frustratingly ambiguous and you have one of the surprise hit films of the year.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Worth a million Transformers, this low budget gem tickles the ribs whilst being surprisingly moving at the same time. Rating: 8/10.