Review of Calvary (2014) by Foxgrove — 31 Jul 2014

There is a lot to like and admire in 'Calvary', not least a compelling opening demonstrating Brendan Gleeson's skill as an actor, and a strong ending with a powerful final moment. These two stand out scenes book end a film which, whilst containing great ensemble acting and intelligent writing, is to loosely directed to be totally successful. There is no real narrative drive beyond its almost inevitable conclusion. Gleeson is superb as the very human priest under threat of being murdered by a member of his own community. Living with this knowledge and battling his own demons he still carries on with the day to day effort of positively influencing the disparate bunch of characters he encounters on a daily basis. The screenplay, which takes place over the course of a week, examines the differing views on the church; from its hypocrisies, the cynicism of the non believers, to the almost obsessive nature of the converted. It is all served up with a delicious dose of black humour (I love the line ' Friends are enemies you've not made yet') which successfully makes its points without trivialising the serious nature of the film generally.

It certainly holds the attention and can also boast a fine supporting cast from which Chris O'Dowd stands out as the local butcher.