THE GUARD

In John Michael McDonagh's comedy The Guard Brandon Gleeson plays Sgt. Boyle, a small town Irish cop who's commitment to law and order is perhaps not above reproach. Over the course of the film he does drugs, has a threesome with a pair of hookers, helps smuggle guns, fondles a dead body and threatens to beat a small child. So why does this movie feels so sweet? Is Brandon Gleeson just that inherently likable? Perhaps.

Also likable is Don Cheedle who plays the straight laced FBI agent Everett who's hot-ish on the trail of a trio of crooks (played by Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong and David Wilmot) looking to unload $500 million worth of cocaine. Sgt. Boyle and Everett end up working together and grow to like each other despite Boyles general abrasiveness and occasional racism.

It wouldn't be right to call this film a buddy comedy. Cheedle and Gleeson make for an interesting pair, but their relationship is not central to the film. Instead McDonagh focuses more firmly on Boyle's character and his life outside of the police force.

The jokes in this film are dark. Many gags wouldn't be out of place in the first Hangover, and yet it's not always a laugh-out-loud funny film. Perhaps it's the understated delivery, or the greater character depth. Unlike many comedies The Guard takes place in something approaching the real world, it takes death seriously, sometimes more seriously than it's characters. That might put a damper on laughs from time to time, but the consistent tone helps balance it out and the added gravity works to the films benefit.

John Michael McDonagh is probably best known as the brother of noted playwright/Oscar winning filmmaker Martin McDonagh who wrote and directed the criminally underseen film In Bruges. This film has a lot of the same style and tone as that one. Very much the same sensibility.

I had a great deal of affection for this film. It has a enough to keep me engaged and invested in what was going on, but on the whole, it's a very light film. I can see it as a TV series. The kind of light, affable, BBC import they air on PBS friday nights when they can't find a concert.  Of course they'd have to take out all the swearing, most of the drugs and possibly the corpse fondling.

Grade: A-