The Guard (7/10): Gleeson in top form when working with either of the McDonagh brothers.

“Now I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, these men are armed and dangerous, and you being an FBI agent you're more used to shooting at unarmed women and children.”

John Michael McDonagh’s feature film debut is as irreverent as the main character of this movie played by Brendan Gleeson who isn’t afraid of the repercussions his words might have on the rest of his peers. Gleeson plays an unorthodox Irish policeman of a small local community who when attending a meeting with an American FBI agent played by Don Cheadle makes a number of racist remarks such as “I thought only black lads were drug dealers?” and then justifies his behavior by claiming “I'm Irish. Racism is part of my culture.” The Guard is basically a vehicle for Gleeson to make all sorts of irreverent remarks and that is where most of the laughs come from as you combine McDonagh’s witty screenplay with Gleeson’s performance. We’d seen Gleeson team up with McDonagh’s brother in the past working with a similar sense of Irish humor in In Bruges. Your enjoyment for this film depends on your appreciation for this style of humor, which is very different from American comedies, since it is dry, rude, and insolent. McDonagh isn’t worried about being politically correct and Gleeson’s perfect delivery of each line made The Guard an entertaining experience for me. The humor doesn’t always work like in In Bruges, but at least it hits most of its notes. Gleeson and Cheadle have a couple of great scenes together, but there are also some great supporting performances from Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong, and David Wilmot. 

The opening scene is one of the funniest I’ve seen in recent months and it sets the tone of the film perfectly with its dark humor. A group of young kids are driving at a high speed in their sport vehicle and just as they pass a local policeman and the camera focuses on him we hear a loud crash. Inspector Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) walks to the sight of the accident and searches the pockets of the victims finding some drugs and taking them while making some witty remark about not wanting to tell their mother’s what he has found. We are then introduced to Gerry and his confrontational personality when he teams up with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) who is in the small Irish town investigating a multimillion dollar drug trafficking operation. Gerry doesn’t seem too interested in the drug case, but when these drug dealers cross the line and try to intimidate him he decides they’ve gone to far. 

The movie could’ve easily fallen into predictable territory centering on the odd-couple humor, but thanks to Gleeson’s performance and McDonagh’s script it stands out as an original film. The Guard deconstructs much of the detective procedural elements we’ve seen in other movies and McDonagh seems to have a lot of fun doing this as he directs his own material. His directorial debut showed a lot of promise, and surprisingly in his sophomore film, Calvary, he shies away from the genre and enters into more dramatic territory although continuing to work with Gleeson. It seems the two have established a solid relationship as the director’s writing seems perfect for the actor’s delivery. The Guard is an unconventional character study that had me laughing during most of its runtime.  

My Review: Hunger (7/10)

"I have my belief, and in all its simplicity that is the most powerful thing."

Steve McQueen's feature debut, Hunger, is a realistic and brutal portrayal of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) activists who are protesting their miserable treatment at the Belfast prison known as The Maze. Hunger is a challenging film to watch due to the brutal and unflinching portrayal of such a dark period in our recent history. If you have a weak stomach then you might want to stay away from this film because it is really gruesome. The way McQueen's camera captures the events and allows the images to tell the story is truly remarkable. We get extreme close ups of characters faces and hands that tell us a lot more than words possibly could. The film doesn't actually center on one character as it begins by following one of the prison guards as he goes off to work, then we are introduced to one of the prisoners who has just arrived at the Maze and is refusing to wear a prison uniform, and finally the film focuses on Bobby Sands a prisoner who is protesting their treatment with a hunger strike. What he is looking for is political prisoner status and despite their efforts they have been refused. The images in Hunger are disturbing but powerful. Of his three films, Hunger is possibly his weakest one, but it is still an extraordinary movie. He has perfected his craft with each upcoming film and is slowly inserting himself among my favorite directors. 

Steve McQueen and Enda Walsh's brutal screenplay centers on the battle between the IRA imprisoned activists and the British guards that took place in 1981 in the Maze prison of Northern Ireland. It opens with  a scene of a prison guard (Stuart Graham) heading for work. His knuckles are full of blisters and before he gets in his car he checks that there are no bombs hidden under it. It's an interesting way in which McQueen portrayed the constant threats and fear of retaliation the guards were under. Once he arrives at the prison we are introduced to Davey (Brian Milligan), a new IRA prisoner who is refusing to wear his uniform and claiming for political status. The guards refuse to listen to him and lock him up with another prisoner named Gerry (Liam McMahon). Their cell is smeared with excrement all over the walls and the conditions are pitiful. It's their way of expressing their resistance towards the brutal treatment they receive from the guards. Their efforts are useless. Halfway through the film we are introduced to another IRA prisoner, Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), who has decided that the best way they can protest is by beginning a hunger strike. In a memorable scene between Sands and a visiting priest (Liam Cunningham) we hear his reasoning for behaving this way.

The performances in this film are really amazing, Michael Fassbender especially as he undergoes an incredible physical transformation. I think his work in all 3 films with McQueen are absolutely breathtaking. He is perhaps one of the best actors working today. The scene between him and the priest which is about 17 minutes long is shot entirely on a single take and it really stands out in the movie. In a film that has very little dialogue that long scene worked extremely well and the dialogue was extremely well written. The rest of the cast also deliver a strong performance, but it isn't until Fassbender shows up on screen that the film truly picks up and engages us. Hunger is carefully crafted and McQueen uses every single shot to such an incredible effect that those images speak more than words. Hunger may be disturbing for most audiences, but it is extremely well made and hugely effective.