"Well, I Hope He's Dead Because I Just Put Him Into The Fekkin' Morgue."
The Guard (2011)
While I was intrigued by claims that this was somehow linked with "In Bruges", possibly the best movie of 2008, it turns out the link is somewhat tenuous. The writer and director is the brother of the guy who wrote and directed "In Bruges". Nevertheless, that means that they have similar influences.
Also, "The Guard" has a leading actor in common with "In Bruges" and that is, of course, the wonderful Brendan Gleeson. Brendan Gleeson is one of those actors who can't really put a foot wrong. In Perrier's Bounty, he seemed to be the only actor who could transcend the by-the-numbers plodding material he was working despite having co-stars like Cillian Murphy and Jim Broadbent. In 28 Days Later, the movie goes downhill pretty much the moment his character disappears from the scene. Coincidence? I think not! And let's also not forget that Gleeson was by far the best thing in the fourth Harry Potter movie.
But who else is in this movie then? Well there's Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham and Fionnula Flanagan (even if you don't recognise these names, you are sure to know them when you see them). However, there's also an American actor here: Don Cheadle. I love Don Cheadle. As well as starring in "Traffic" and "Hotel Rwanda" and having a neat little cameo in "Rush Hour 2", I also found he provided the only bearable performances in "Boogie Nights" and "Crash". Don cheadle unsurprisingly plays a 'fish out of water' character as the FBI agent who is unfamiliar with the workings of the Irish "Garda" (or "Guard").
Don Cheadle plays an FBI officer who has come to Galway in Ireland to make a massive drugs bust. Unfortunately he's underestimated cultural differences and corruption, not to mention general apathy. Like with Edgar Wright's "Hot Fuzz", ideas about to handle major crimes mainly seem to come from movies. Gleeson plays Sergeant Boyle in the Galway Garda, a policeman who has become particularly apathetic about his job. Boyle's ideals are far more limited than those of Don Cheadle's FBI agent, but they find themselves working together all the same. That's about all of the plot I can really afford to reveal, but trust me there's a great deal more to the story than that.
Stylistically you can expect something pretty similar to "In Bruges". There's dark humour right from the start and the setting is put to excellent use both in the filming and in the storyline. (Though I do wonder how people who actually live in Galway feel about this film.) Jokes are made liberally about police corruption, racism, bestiality and so on, without a dud in the bunch. The movie even draws on the IRA for humour, with Pat Shortt (the guy from "Father Ted" with the 'I shot Jr' t-shirt) turning up as a former IRA man.
The plot ends up coming together rather nicely and this is a fantastic piece of entertainment. So I guess the question now is: Which is better? "In Bruges" or "The Guard". I'd have to say that "In Bruges" is a rather more beautiful film. However, in terms of humour I actually think that "The Guard" is funnier. There was a seriousness to "In Bruges" which is missing here which on the one hand allows "The Guard" to pack in more laughs, but on the other hand makes it a little less soulful. That being said, "The Guard" still has some really heartfelt and touching moments all the same.
Heck, comparing "The Guard" to "In Bruges" is somewhat like comparing "Schindler's List" to "Lawrence of Arabia". There comes a point where a comparison is just unfair. They're both brilliant movies which with emotional depth and the kind of black humour that'll have you laughing your head off. After a while of feeling rather down-hearted about this year's movies I think the tide may have turned because, as of right now, this is my favourite movie of 2011.
A+ (Excellent)