It would usually seem unfair to compare two siblings who are working in the same craft. However, when it comes to the McDonagh brothers and screenwriting, comparisons are hard to avoid. Celebrated playwright and Oscar winner (for the live action short “Six Shooter”) Martin McDonagh made his feature film debut a few years ago with the underrated dark comedy “In Bruges.” His brother, John Michael McDonagh, has now made his first foray into writing and directing with “The Guard,” which played at the L.A. Film Festival. Though their respective films certainly have plenty of differences, there is an undeniable knack for witty dialogue and dark humor that is shared by the brothers in their writing style.
“The Guard” stars the great Brendan Gleeson (also a star of “In Bruges”) as Gerry Boyle, a well-meaning cop in a small Irish village who moves to the beat of his own drum. Whether he is offending others with racial slurs (“I’m Irish, racism is part of my culture!”) or using his off days to swim in the ocean and rendezvous with prostitutes, Boyle is completely unapologetic about his behavior. Somehow, this actually makes him more endearing and likable. Gleeson clearly had a lot of fun with this role and really takes advantage of the opportunity to shine in a starring vehicle.
When a drug-smuggling ring starts to make its way through his village, Boyle is teamed up with American FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle) to help investigate the case. Though the aspects of the plot surrounding the investigation get a bit convoluted and boring at times, plenty of entertainment comes just from watching Boyle and fish-out-of-water Everett bicker with each other as they become colleagues. In fact, many of the best moments in “The Guard” come from the interactions between the characters, even if they are just hilarious throwaway moments that barely pertain to the plot. Other than the exceptional pairing of Gleeson and Cheadle, lots of laughs also come from the group of criminals involved in the drug smuggling (Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, and David Wilmot). Fans of the casual dark comedic banter found in Tarantino’s early films will find plenty to like in “The Guard.”
Despite sharing the same gene for writing terrific dialogue as his brother, John doesn’t seem to possess the same polish as a storyteller yet. Also, as a first time director, his shot selections and the way he covers certain scenes leaves a bit to be desired. This is just a minor complaint, as the film more than gets by on its humor and performances.
All comparisons to his brother aside, one can’t argue the fact that John Michael McDonagh is also an interesting talent worth keeping an eye on. In the post film Q&A at LAFF, McDonagh mentioned that he is already in the process of getting his next film made, which will also star Gleeson.
DIRECTOR: John Michael McDonagh SCREENWRITER:John Michael McDonagh PRODUCERS: Paul Brett, Don Cheadle CAST: Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmont RUN TIME: 96 minutes MPAA RATING: NR
