The Guard
Available at Video Ezy now!
Irish crime-comedy about two policemen who join forces to take on an international drug-smuggling gang – one, a sly Irish policeman (Brendan Gleeson) and the other, a straitlaced FBI agent (Don Cheadle).
"'What a beautiful day,' sighs Brendan Gleeson’s unorthodox Irish cop. The fact that he’s saying this while high on acid at the scene of a car accident tells you everything you need to know about this 90s-style crimecomedy." (TimeOut New York).
This is the feature debut from John Michael McDonagh, brother of the playwright and filmmaker who made In Bruges.
Starring
Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan
Directed by
John Michael McDonagh (feature debut)
Written by
John Michael McDonagh
(R13) contains violence, offensive language, drug use & sexual material | Comedy, Thriller | Ireland | Official Website
USER REVIEWS
Add your two cents...
Average rating 
Odd but very funny. Have to listen carefully but loved it =)
Reviewed by Hailey
hard to understand accent but better than TV
Reviewed by angePRESS REVIEWS
Average rating
A.V. Club (USA)
Focusing the film on Gleeson was certainly the right choice. His performance is equal parts funny and unnerving, and he keeps viewers guessing about what drives the man and what he'll do next.
Click to read full review.Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The Guard is a pleasure. I can't tell if it's really (bleeping) dumb or really (bleeping) smart, but it's pretty (bleeping) good.
Click to read full review.Empire (UK)
Among the most purely entertaining films of the year, which cuts its laughter with a dose of Celtic melancholy. It still delivers cop/action requirements — shoot-outs, revenges, daring deeds — and chances are, we’ll be quoting lines from this forever.
Click to read full review.New York Times
There's a story, in case you're looking for one, though it's almost an afterthought, just the thin glue holding everything together, including the fine cast, the sense of broody place and the fatalism that seems to come with it. Mostly there's Mr. McDonagh's playful, sometimes overly cute language, which serves the actors and also threatens to upstage them.
Click to read full review.Total Film (UK)
Patrolling the dark/light divide so confidently even the IRA nab legitimate laughs, The Guard is a cracker of a film and Sergeant Gerry Boyle a comedy creation for the ages.
Click to read full review.Variety (USA)
A crusty jewel of a performance by Brendan Gleeson goes a long way toward enlivening an otherwise routine tale of murder, blackmail, drug trafficking and rural police corruption in The Guard.
Village Voice (USA)
The Guard bets everything on Gleeson's boyish twinkle—and tends to overestimate its own raffish charm.
Click to read full review.Flicks.co.nz "The Guard" Movie Review
Flicks.co.nz rating
Matt Glasby, Flicks.co.nz
Screenwriting guru William Goldman writes, rather beautifully, of first encountering intrepid detective Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand) in the Coen brothers’ classic, Fargo. “I felt a sense of peace,” he says. For one thing, McDormand was married to Joel Coen, so “no way he offs his wife”. For another, “I was going to spend another hour with one of the major movie characters of the decade… I just wanted to be along for the ride.”
The same is true of Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) of the Irish police force, although he’s a good deal less wholesome than Marge – in fact, we first meet him tripping his nuts off on confiscated acid. Gleeson’s not romantically linked with writer-director John Michael McDonagh either, although he did bring the same bear-like charm to In Bruges by McDonagh’s brother, Martin, so close enough.
Like a light-hearted Lethal Weapon in reverse, The Guard teams Gleeson’s corner-cutting hick with Don Cheadle’s uptight FBI officer Wendell Everett with genial, often laugh-out-loud results. Chugging pills and visiting prostitutes, while retaining a twinkly-eyed appeal, Boyle scoffs at his partner’s professional eagerness. Everett, meanwhile, can scarcely believe Boyle’s questionable methods, but soon wonders whether he’s as stupid (or racist, or dishonest, or crass) as he appears.
Although it may sound a touch over-familiar – and the open-and-shut smuggling case they face certainly is – the film’s more interested in spending quality time with this unlikely pair than solving crimes. Thanks to McDonagh’s sparkling script and some charming central performances, you will be too.
Search
Store Locator
