The Guard (2011)

Outstanding! Jack and I loved this Irish crime story slash buddy slapstick comedy, the feature directorial debut and second screenplay of John Michael McDonagh, starring Brendan Gleeson as a rule-breaking racist cop (they say Garda) in Connemara, County Galway, and Don Cheadle as his American colleague. Mary Ellen, who saw it twice, though not with us, called it "Clever, tightly written, humorous, and gritty!" and I am in complete agreement. McDonagh, brother of Martin McDonagh (Oscar nominated and multi-award winner for the screenplay to the wonderful In Bruges (2008) which was his feature directing and writing debut) wrote the screenplay for Ned Kelly (2003), which I didn't see but I heard was good, and The Guard was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance early this year.

Gleeson (known to Harry Potter fans as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody in the last three, he's been most recognized for In Bruges, which is also a crime story slash buddy slapstick comedy co-starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes--you must see it, and he's had supporting roles in many that I've liked, such as Into the West (1992), Gangs of New York (2002), and especially The Butcher Boy (1997)) is hilarious as Sergeant Gerry Boyle, who makes no apologies for his corrupt behavior, and is good to his mum, played by the still-lovely Fionnula Flanagan (she played Daniel Faraday's mother Eloise Hawking in Lost, and I loved her in Waking Ned Devine (1998), among many roles), who is the only major cast member not pictured in the credits, which are after the movie has ended. I liked the photo credits, not only because they showed us who was who, but also for the opportunity to savor the music a while longer and learn the names. Cheadle (another of the names I already knew--I wrote about him in Iron Man 2) is sublime as the straight man, FBI agent Wendell Everett, who has been shipped over to this village to solve the case. One of the bad guys, Clive, is played by Mark Strong (villain or cad in all four of his movies so far on babetteflix: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Body of Lies, Sherlock Holmes, and The Young Victoria), ruthless, yes, but we still laughed. Those are all the names I already knew, but it was interesting to read that the guy in the hat with the guns in his car is a comedian well known in Ireland, Pat Shortt.

Watch for the fabulous production design and wardrobe, with touches like dial phones, richly painted walls, and Mrs. McBride's matching red coat and tights. Apparently McDonagh used storyboards, which are out of vogue these days, but the Director of Photography Larry Smith was cool with it (listen for the remark about "Americanisms").

The trailer gives you a taste of the music by Calexico, and that track sounds like an American western with reverb guitars, horns, and male bass vocals. In fact, the trailer begins with the onscreen words, "In the west...of Ireland." Two more songs are available on youtube (listen to one and the other link will be below) or go to the amazon page and click Play all samples (some of the full tracks have dialogue which is why it's labeled explicit). We were surprised to note that the version of Leavin' on a Jet Plane that ends the credits is sung by John Denver and surprised to learn that he wrote it.

Two items to check out after you see the movie: the spoiler trivia item on imdb and the press kit, which is full of interesting tidbits plus the complete credits, ending with the ten songs not by Calexico. Just be sure to see this one. You won't be sorry!