Though waiting until the age of 34 before entering the world film Brendan Gleeson has become one of the worlds favourite Irishmen. Now he has again garnered international acclaim for his part in The Guard. John Michael McDonagh's newest film boasts an impressive cast which includes Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes), Liam Cunningham (The Wind that Shakes the Barley), Fionnuala Flanagan (The Others), and the ever reliable Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda) as FBI agent Wendell Everett. The man behind the screenplay of Ned Kelly (2003) writes and directs this darkly comedic, yet at times thrilling, representation of law enforcement on the Emerald Isle. Mcdonagh is perhaps one of the funniest screen writers in the world right now and has added to his growing mass of work with this tremendous piece.
After The Guard opened the Edinburgh Film Festival last week The Times’ review was a glowing one “Without doubt the strongest debut film of the year so far, this sly witty and provocative Irish black comedy is an exceptionally funny crowd-pleaser and a playfully cine-literate exercise, laced with arcane movie references". Meanwhile after a press screening in New York NYCmovieguru.com said the film is "the best dark comedy since ‘In Bruges'. Wickedly funny. It will leave you in stitches"
But it's Gleeson's portrayal of Sergeant Gerry Boyle that has wowed audiences around the world. According to Variety"... it's Gleeson who rightly owns the screen as a beer-swilling, crotch-grabbing, Derringer-firing crusader with one hell of a filthy mouth to go along with his heart of gold." "...funny, "...funny, rueful, beautifully shot, and a fine, funny/serious performance by Brendan Gleeson". Parade Magazine
The film is set on the west coast of Ireland where we see the unorthodox, Sergeant Boyle’s soft spot for prostitutes join his dying mother on his list of priorities. Leaving no room whatsoever for him to have any interest in the international drug-smuggling ring that has brought Everett to his small town. Everett has been drafted in on the back of a glittering career to track down a bunch of slightly bungling drug runners in sleepy old Connemara - Gleeson's patch.
Gleeson and Cheadle spar well and develop a likable relationship, despite this it's not the heart of the movie; that belongs, again, to Gleeson in a tour de force performance. One refreshingly simple comedic treat is the fact that Sergeant Boyle is wearing a female Garda hat throughout the entire movie.
Filmed in Barna, Co. Galway, The Guard an Irish/UK co-production backed by the Irish Film Board and international financiers and is produced for Element Pictures and Reprisal Films. It opens in Irish cinemas on July 8th.
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