Monday, September 26, 2011

The Guard



Rating: 4/5

Dear God, another crazy accents movie? That makes two in a row! Why am I seeing so many European films with nearly unintelligable dialogue? Ok, I'm being a little harsh, but I did see Attack the Block last week. Anyway, like Attack the Block, The Guard's director is making his debut here. I would definitely like to see more of his work in the future.

Sgt. Jerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is a police officer in rural Ireland who is unconventional to say the least. He drops acid, solicits prostiututes, disturbs crime scenes, and curses profusely. However, when three drug dealers (Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, and Mark Strong) bring their business to town and their dirty cash to cops, Jerry is the sole officer who remains clean. Now paired with an FBI agent (Don Cheadle), Jerry has to take down the baddies, and hijinks ensue.

Now, the only other Brendan Gleeson movie I've seen is In Bruges, and he was great in that. The same can be said for The Guard. Even though everyone in the cast his great, Gleeson carries the film. His performance here definitely deserves recognition, even if not by major awards shows.

Everything from his facial expressions are really fantastic. Jerry's character is so much fun, and is really well supplemented by the wickedly funny and smart script, great direction and beautiful cinematography. Put short, I want to go to Ireland.

The Guard makes me sad. Sad because it's the kind of film awards shows usually love, but it has too much cursing and violence, and it isn't about a historical figure a la The King's Speech. But hey, maybe if we're lucky and there is justice, Brendan Gleeson will at least get nomi9nated for his performance. Either way, The Guard is a good movie worth seeing.

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