A quick review for fans of In Bruges. John Michael McDonagh, brother of In Bruges director Martin McDonagh, has come out with a directorial debut of his own, The Guard, starring In Bruges alumnus Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.

The Guard is a brilliant example of the importance of character. Essentially an Irish spoof of US buddy comedies with a touch of class, the film focuses on an Irish cop (Gleeson) who teams up with a CIA agent (Cheadle) to stop a drug smuggling operation in the Irish countryside. The plot is ho-hum as it usually is in cop flicks. The fun lies in the chemistry between the characters, namely Gleeson and Cheadle but also the trio of smugglers that serve as antagonists and just about everyone else. There's even a running gag that nobody in the film really cares about drug crimes except for the CIA agents so that about settles it.

The film's standout is, as he should be, Gleeson. His character, Gerry Boyle, is just an absolute ball. He's the walking definition of unethical (doing drugs, screwing hookers, messing with crime scenes, etc.), a card carrying racist and just generally someone who, flat out, doesn't care. He likes to poke fun at his partners but tends to cross the line between playful ball busting into full blown disrespect. What really sums him up is a line from Cheadle: "I can't tell if you're really motherfuckin' dumb or really motherfuckin' smart." And indeed, anytime someone tries to call him out on his ignorance, he not only surprises them with nonchalant intelligence but turns the tables on them and calls them out on their own. He in fact spends much of the film playing dumb for people who seem smarter but are actually dumber than he is. The character dynamics in this film are really just out of the ball park.

Cheadle compliments Gleeson fabulously with his straight man persona who is constantly disrespected but bites back every time.

The tone and humor in The Guard is near identical to In Bruges. The jokes are of the exact same dry, sarcastic and often offensive variety spewed out primarily by Colin Farrell's character in the latter film. There's also a good number of jabs at the US that I found not only hilarious but on point as well (there was a line about Americans always writing autobiographies that was definitely one of my favorite jokes in the end). The Guard also shares In Bruges' casual tonal shifts from dark comedy to tragedy as well as the occasional action without being particularly noticeable. I do however think The Guard, being something of a parody, is noticeably lighter than In Bruges but it all comes from the same creative batch, really.

There's a few shortcomings to the film but they're little more than nitpicks, honestly. Gleeson's accent is so thick sometimes, I had trouble understanding him. Nobody's fault, of course, but I feel like I may have missed a few good bits here and there. I suppose the humor might be a little too dry at times for some people. Maybe a little too slow at times as well. And the low budget does stand out at times. But overall, I felt I was consistently entertained and really have to think hard about anything that irked me.

Here's the trailer:

The trailer spoils the film for me. I wish I hadn't seen it before I saw the film. I really don't think this is for a US audience. As you pointed out, the humour is 'dry' and the accents are pretty thick. Overall, I thought this was only okay. I have seen, read and performed alot of Martin McDonaghs plays and films. This had a very simple story and relied on a 'colourful' character and run of the mill gags to carry it through.

I can see the similarities in the brothers, but there are some disparities too.
I felt "The Guard" had good comic timing and lead chemistry.
However, it really disintegrated for me in the third act.
Which is where "In Bruges" really comes together for me and soars.
"The Guard" feels like it's played almost too straight at times.
The singular tone of the film started grating on me after the first hour.
Gleeson and Cheadle are doing fine work, but the script lets them down.

E.D.

Very enjoyable little film this. As an Englishman reared 50% Irish, a lot of the witticisms are familiar from my voyages over. "I've got very small breasts", "That's OK, I have a very small penis" is delivered with that certain Irish self-deprecating charm. One of many enjoyable quotes - the dialogue is largely excellent. There were a couple of amusing nudges towards the English (we always deserve it), the Welsh (easy targets), and the Irish themselves. "This is Ireland. Go to England if you want to speak English" and "That's the problem with the Irish, Wendell, they never forget" were cheeky means of teasing paranoid Irish men who hate all things English or British. "Murdering little protestants" was maybe a little heavy-handed, though. Fact is, everyone gets ripped. I'm sure if you delve deep enough, there are metaphors for pillaging the land (hence the need for a 'Guard'), but I won't go there, as this certainly isn't, to my mind, a mean-spirited film.

It is, however, one that is supported by a sharpwitted underbelly. The contrast of American formality (and "ideals" of spreading a contemporary Victorian set of 'better values') versus Irish informality was amusing. To me at least, it felt a subtle jibe at how some Americans can be a little uppity like the English were back in the days of Empire. Surely a byproduct of being the defacto power on earth - you lose touch with the common man. To riff slightly, there were a couple of mentions of English/American disharmony through language which spoke to me of a changing of 'the Guard' (i.e. who now has a bigger say/greater influence of the two in Ireand), but it's just an offhand thought. Cheadle's Wendell channelled Obama (maybe not in terms of narrative but perhaps as a choice of Cheadle) at times, even if just a little bit. These were little observations I found. Might be different for others.

Gleeson and Cheadle were predictably nimble and add extra quality to their CVs. Mark Strong adds another villain to his villainous repertoire with aplomb. He's an incredibly menacing figure.

This is definitely a fun film to kick back to and enjoy. It's quite reminiscent of Dead Man's Shoes in that we essentially have a provincial town with small town crooks masquerading as big times - irony being they're quite unaware of it. Granted, the FBI getting involved is a wee amping up on Dead Man's Shoes, but whatever. The ending with that devilish comment from Cheadle and smile from Gleeson was pitch perfect. Good film. It's definitely worth a butchers.