The Guard [DVD]

Sergeant Gerry Boyle is an atypical Irish garda (policeman): he takes drugs, hires prostitutes and has no problem interfering with a crime scene. He also has an instinctive talent for police work and an impressive amount of luck. When an international drug smuggling operation is discovered operating in the Galway area, Boyle is forced to partner American FBI agent Wendell Everett to bring the smugglers to justice.

On paper, The Guard sounds like a cliche-in-waiting: a chalk and cheese buddy cop movie, in which the straight-laced FBI agent teams up with the slightly crazy Irish policeman and they fail to get along, before circumstances makes them appreciate the other's approach, leading to a happy ending and mutual respect.

This isn't that film. Instead, The Guard is an offbeat, frequently hilarious and well-characterised mini-masterpiece. The normally-excellent Brendan Gleeson is indomitably magnificent in the central role of Boyle, an offbeat and weird policeman who delights in randomly odd acts, whilst Don Cheadle is considerably more restrained (until his frustration explodes into expletive-strewn invective) as Everett. The two actors have a great chemistry which drives the film along. Another important ingredient is the interplay between our three principal villains (Liam Cunningham's Francis, David Wilmot's Liam and Mark Strong's Clive), who break up the monotony between murderous drug jobs by engaging in philosophical quote-offs and debating how best to recruit nameless goon minions.

The film's setting is also key. From the point of view of someone who lived there for a year, Galway and Connemara (a Gaelic-speaking region to the west of the city) are depicted very well. One of director John Michael McDonagh's more amusing quirks is to stage the film like a Western, with Ireland standing in for the American West, complete with saloons and shoot-outs (the film also features one of the better uses of the Chekhov's gun rule). This adds to the film's offbeat atmosphere.

The movie also features some amusing commentary about the cliches of buddy cop films and their predictability, which the film then fails to adhere to. There are also some nice emotional beats (such as the relationship between Boyle and his dying mother, and the complex relationship between Boyle's police sidekick and his wife) but these are handled subtly and not laboured over. The film ends on a note of ambiguity, which the movie then lampoons mercilessly just for the hell of it.

The Guard (*****) is a genuinely funny, outrageous and smart movie. It is available now in the UK (DVD, Blu-Ray) and USA (DVD, Blu-Ray).

There are countless films about maverick cops who take the law into their own hands, they are usually self-styled and sexy with no respect for authority and attract reluctant admiration by their superiors and peers. Sergeant Gerry Boyle isn't quite one of those, he's an overweight policeman from a who's disillusioned with life, his job, and breaks rule not to get the job done but because he simply doesn't care that much anymore.

Boyle is the kind of policeman who checks a corpse for money before reporting, he plays with evidence to amuse himself and stops off for a pint or two during his shift. He's a bent cop but interestingly you identify with him, his dry humour and cynicism. You get the sense that he's actually a decent guy who has seen a lot of life, concluded that it's not fair and his misdemeanours are small fry and insignificant compared to life's greater injustices - such as the death of his wife and the imminent demise of his mother. His unsubtle cavalier approach contrasts with those of the visiting FBI agent - and the two find themselves working together on the biggest case to hit the small village. Those wanting a laugh-a-minute barrage of knob-gags and jaunty jokes may be disappointed, the humour here is dark and much of it comes from the politically incorrect script. Some of the characters are over-the-top but overall the film is grounded in reality thanks to Brendon Gleeson's natural performance. The plot is nothing special, it's just a vehicle for Sgt. Boyle and it's fully justified because the film saunters along and the character is allowed to dominate, this is a film about Boyle which follows a well-tested formula without ever looking formulaic.

The Blu-Ray transfer appears okay, details tend to be well rendered and apart from once scene which seemed more grainy than all the others it doesn't look too shabby. The film is directed with an artistic flare and backgrounds tend to have bright colours which is often used to accent a scene. Natural light seems to be used a lot and some shots are striking because of their symmetry (early scenes set on a pier show it central to a pin-point accuracy). The extras on the dick include a making of and plenty of interviews with cast and crew - they show that clearly everyone enjoyed working on the film. As a fan of sort film I enjoyed the inclusion of "The Second Death" which is a strong offering and means that the bonus features together provide over an hour of additional viewing. The Second Death is a poignant short and you can see some of the seeds of The Guard present within this moody, melancholic character piece.

In a nutshell: Two very different officers joining forces and coming to respect and even like each other has been done a thousand times before - but this feel unique and abandons easy clichés in favour of a strong central character. It won't be to everyone's taste (nothing ever is) and the uneventful story feels a bit slow at times but there's no doubting that Sergeant Boyle is one of films greatest recent characters.

Whilst Brendan Gleeson is on top form in this wonderful little movie, it is some of the minor periphary characters that give the movie its heart and soul. Some truly offbeat, wonderfully stupid and politically-incorrect individuals, with some truly spectacular language populate this quiet and calm part of the world. Mark Strong's philosophical musings about an occupation in the international drug-smuggling arena are particularly hilarious.
All-in-all a wonderfully offbeat experience that will have you grinning from ear to ear. However, if you are aversed to foul language - stay clear. You have been warned.