Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong
Directed by: John Michael McDonagh
Written by: John Michael McDonagh
Genre: Comedy, Crime

Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) runs the police department of a very small Irish town, and runs it his own way. He disregards crime scene procedures. He drinks. He hires hookers. But when a huge drug smuggling operation turns up on the shores of his Gaelic town, Boyle finds himself face to face hard-nosed FBI agent Everett (Cheadle) who is determined to stop half a million dollars of cocaine from being smuggled. However, the two defender’s different approaches to the law make the investigation a lot more difficult than it could be.

Let’s hear it for Brendan Gleeson. He has been one of the greatest unsung character actors since Braveheart, and he’s only finally starting to get his moment in the public eye. He carries this film with ease, demonstrating his uncanny comedic ability while still being able to retain all of the humanness needed to make Boyle a real character. I’d go as far to say that in the hands of any other actor besides Gleeson, Boyle would be a downright hatable character. Gleeson is able to make the drug use, the racist slurs, and otherwise deplorable behavior seem almost… lovable. Unfortunately, that’s about where the greatness of The Guard stops.

Despite valiant efforts to try something risky, The Guard suffers the same fate as many black comedies, which is to say that it has a very hard time establishing its tone. We’re treated to a very promising opening sequence with invigorating spaghetti western influence, but from there it tends to meander somewhere between broad comedy and dark comedy with mixed results. Boyle’s abrasiveness and lackadaisical approach to his job is the source of many hilarious bits, but quickly we realize that there isn’t much going on with Boyle to root for. Sure, he’s appealing as a comedic character, but he doesn’t seem to care about much, and thus neither do we.

Truthfully, it seems like McDonagh has put too much focus on creating compelling characters, but then doesn’t give them much to do outside of generic drug/detective activities. The drug dealers wax philosophical, quoting their favorite thinkers, but we never find out why they’re in the drug game. And there is an attempt to establish a mythos over Boyle that in the film’s final moments just doesn’t work.

The Guard still stands as a very compelling alternative to big blow-em-up Hollywood films, and fans of movies like In Bruges will find a lot here to love. But it is burdened with a sauntering story that can’t quite apprehend a strong motive.

Ireland. 96 minutes. Rated R.

Click here for Blu-ray review.

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