Review of Calvary (2014) by Jesse L — 31 Jan 2015

I don't think I can come up with any words for how great Brendan Gleeson is in this movie. Then again, this guy is great in almost everything he's in. And this is a complete 180 from his role in The Guard, another film by John Michael McDonagh.

There's a certain weariness to his character, like you know he's clearly gone through some shit and he just carries it with him in his body language, his facial expressions, and the way he communicates with people.

He is a man who, for a priest, is very intolerant of bullshit. Not that priests SHOULD tolerate bullshit, but it's clear that years spent in this small village, with these people in his parish has taken a lot of the joy out of his life.

Yet he still does open his ears to these people whenever they're in need of spiritual guidance or any sort of advice they may want from him, because that's what he does. Even if, as the Brits say, the people are taking the piss by poking fun at him, the church, and priests in general.

So he carries that world-weariness with him wherever he goes, not to mention that, before he joined the priesthood, his wife died. So he obviously carries that with him as well. The film is funny while at the same time being quite insightful as Father James makes his round, trying to help the community in any way he can.

The film tackles pretty heavy issues such as the scandals the church has faced with the pedophile priests, suicide, adultery, war and the military, death, penance, sins, the church and its acceptance of donations, etc.

, etc., etc. The film makes it a point not to preach about any of these issues, which is the problem with most movies based on the concept of religion, but rather give a new perspective into these issues, rather than reinforce the old, tired church position on them.

While the movie does deal with religion, and the struggles of being a catholic priest in this day and age of mistrust in the church in general, this isn't a movie for the converted. If you want something to reinforce your faith, to reaffirm that what you believe is, in fact, the 'truth, well then you're barking up the wrong tree.

Father James, as things in the village start to decay, and the villagers push his buttons, he undergoes a crisis of faith where he decides he's actually gonna leave to go to Dublin to take some time off.

Of course, not to mention the fact that there's a guy out to kill him, which he never mentions to anybody, not even his daughter, for fear of what might happen and what that brings. But, watching the film, I get the feeling that Father James, whose voice he knows but doesn't have any actual proof it's the same guy, wasn't really even worried about this, for the most part, as much as he was worried with his parish.

I don't think he showed it very often, due to his world weariness, but I think he legitimately cared for these people and even through all the mockery and cynicism, if he found a way to help someone in any way then it was worth it to him.

And let's just say that with this motley crew, he'd have a hard time finding any positives. This is a movie that certainly sneaks up on you, it just keeps getting better and better. The conversations get smarter and more insightful.

The acting is top-notch. One thing you can say about the film, which will be either a negative or a positive, depending on the person, is the fact that the film is structured more like sketches. Father James would meet with different people from the community, or his daughter, throughout the day and talk with them and try to help them with their problems.

This structure bothered me, at first. But these moments actually have some of the more interesting and thought-provoking conversations in the entire film. The whole bit about Milo wanting to join the military and James trying to dissuade him was a pretty intriguing conversation, particularly if you're one of those diehard 'support the military at all costs' people.

Some of James' observations might bother some people, but they certainly ring true if you're open-minded enough. The film also has a pretty dark ending all things considered. Not that the film was all sunshine and happiness prior to that, and it wasn't unexpected if you heard the opening monologue, but it's still fairly dark.

I loved this film, I thought it was excellent with some thought-provoking conversations and one of Brendan Gleeson's best performances. It's a movie that takes a little while before you truly get into it, but trust me, it's a very rewarding and satisfying experience.

Highly recommend this.