09-05-2015, 09:21 AM
Okay, in the first one Brendan Gleeson plays a priest and in the second one, he plays an Irish Police Officer or Garde. Which translate to Guard.
First, Gleeson is awesome in both movies. They are by the same writer/director and they have the same field. But for Calvary, they obviously got more money since the cinematography is much more lush. It probably also took them years to make since every day in Cavalry is a sunny day. Since the film takes place over seven days, that had to take two years right there.
The Guard is much funnier. Gleeson plays a loose with the rules officer in a small town in the west of Ireland. He would have been more than happy to stay out of the way of the upcoming drug shipment, but the drug dealers messed with him so he gets to mess back. A big mistake on the part of the drug dealers since Gleeson is much smarter than he seems. It's a great story with lots of different levels.
Calvary is a dark, dark, dark, (did I mention dark?) film. It's full of catholic symbolism and allegory that I didn't quite get but want to understand. Gleeson plays a priest who has been given seven days to live. A man comes into the confessional to tell him he will be murdered in seven days. The unknown killer wants to kill a good priest because killing a bad priest wouldn't cause as much horror. Well, Gleeson doesn't run and we follow him over the course of the seven days. He interacts with the locals in this small Irish town just south of Sligo. The interactions get increasingly harsh as Father James deals with adulterers, liars, alcoholics, people who have lost their way and Father James own suicidal daughter. It's tragic and only gets worse. But it is really well done. It's one of those thinky films that makes you question your values. The most damming question has to deal with the dog.
I liked them both but Calvary might be hard to take.
First, Gleeson is awesome in both movies. They are by the same writer/director and they have the same field. But for Calvary, they obviously got more money since the cinematography is much more lush. It probably also took them years to make since every day in Cavalry is a sunny day. Since the film takes place over seven days, that had to take two years right there.
The Guard is much funnier. Gleeson plays a loose with the rules officer in a small town in the west of Ireland. He would have been more than happy to stay out of the way of the upcoming drug shipment, but the drug dealers messed with him so he gets to mess back. A big mistake on the part of the drug dealers since Gleeson is much smarter than he seems. It's a great story with lots of different levels.
Calvary is a dark, dark, dark, (did I mention dark?) film. It's full of catholic symbolism and allegory that I didn't quite get but want to understand. Gleeson plays a priest who has been given seven days to live. A man comes into the confessional to tell him he will be murdered in seven days. The unknown killer wants to kill a good priest because killing a bad priest wouldn't cause as much horror. Well, Gleeson doesn't run and we follow him over the course of the seven days. He interacts with the locals in this small Irish town just south of Sligo. The interactions get increasingly harsh as Father James deals with adulterers, liars, alcoholics, people who have lost their way and Father James own suicidal daughter. It's tragic and only gets worse. But it is really well done. It's one of those thinky films that makes you question your values. The most damming question has to deal with the dog.
I liked them both but Calvary might be hard to take.
So much for the flickr badge idea. Dammit