Calvary

Plot synopsis:
The film Calvary is a parable of the betrayal of the Irish people by the Irish Catholic Church.Context for the story: The Irish Catholic Church which was a pillar of, and defined Ireland's soul has been revealed to have consciously and methodically covered up institutional atrocities perpetrated by themselves.Set in rural Ireland, the film begins in a confessional where Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) is taking confession. The voice on the other side speaks, "I was seven the first time I tasted semen". "Certainly a startling opening line", Father James replies. The voice asks if he's being ironic. Father James takes a more serious tone. The voice tells him that he was molested both orally and anally by a priest when he was seven and he bled a lot. Father James asks if he would like to report the priest. The voice says that the priest died a long time ago and that it didn't matter. "Killing a bad priest isn't a big deal, but if you kill a good priest, people take notice". The voice says he's going to kill Father James in seven days on the beach.James lives a very simple life. He sleeps in a small room with a bed and his only two possessions are his crucifix and his dog. He takes walks on the beach and interacts with the town people. On the beach, he sees his altar server is drawing a landscape. In it there are two figures. James asks who they are and the boy says he doesn't know, but he has been having a lot of dreams about ghosts lately.After mass, Father James is speaking with Father Leary (David Wilmot) who is gossiping about the townsfolk, sharing information he's heard in confession and making racially inappropriate comments about Simon (Isaach De Bankole) the only black man in the town. Father James doesn't say a word about the threat on his life.James' daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly) comes to town to lay low after a botched suicide attempt. The townsfolk didn't know it was possible for a Catholic priest to have a daughter. James explains that he became a priest after his wife died. The locals in the pub try to flirt with Fiona, but she has no interest. James does not drink. Its not because he doesn't like alcohol. Its because he likes it too much.Later in the day, James visits with Veronica Brennan (Orla ORourke) who was wearing sunglasses during mass to cover up her black eye. She says her husband did it. So James goes to meet her husband, the local butcher Jack Brennan (Chris O'Dowd) and confronts him. Jack is surprised, but good natured about the whole thing. He dismisses his wife by saying she's probably bi-polar. He says it wasn't him, but it might have been her boyfriend Simon. James questions the infidelity, but Jack explains that it works for them. They each do their own thing. James meets with Simon, who takes offense to the charge and passively threatens James and tells him to mind his own business.James spends time with an elderly man known only as The Writer (M. Emmet Walsh) who asks for a Walther PPK, James Bonds favorite gun and the gun Hitler used to kill himself. The Writer explains that he doesn't want to get old and feeble. He'd rather just take his own life when the time is right.James meets with the local Bishop and tells him about the threat during the confession. He also reveals that he knows who the man is and believes the threat is real. The Bishop says that because the man didn't ask for repentance and there was the threat of a law being broken, James would not violate and church law in speaking with the police.James goes to speak with his friend Inspector Stanton (Gary Lydon), who seems to be spending some time with a male prostitute named Leo (Owen Sharpe). Leo keeps making lewd advances on James and offers to have sex with him in his vestments because he knows that's what priests like. Eventually Leo leaves and James asks Stanton for a gun. Stanton ends up giving him one after an awkward exchange where they both point the gun at each others heads.Local Millionaire Michael Fitzgerald (Dylan Moran) runs into James and his daughter on a walk. He's rude to James and Fiona calls him on it. He tells James that he has a business proposition and would like to meet with him later.At Michael's house, James finds him drunkenly shooting skeet. They go inside and Michael insults James and the Catholic Church even more. He explains that hes lost his wife and children because he's detached from everything. Hes cheated people out of money for his own gain and while he knows he should feel bad about it, he doesn't. He also knows that hell never be punished for his crimes because if he were, too many other important people would have to go down too. Still though, he'd like to give the church some money because that seems like a thing people should do. To illustrate how much he doesn't care about anything, he takes a valuable painting off the wall and pees on it. He asks if James is surprised, to which he responds, "No, you've pissed on everything else you've had". He leaves.That night, there's a call for James to go to the hospital. Drunk teens have killed a man on vacation with his wife. We meet Dr. Harte, who tells James to go do his mumbo jumbo. James gives the dead man his late rites and consoles the wife. Outside, James meets up with Harte again. Harte knows the Atheist doctor is a cliché and he wishes he could play James role instead, the good priest. Then he excuses himself by saying he has to go kill someone. Everyone in town has a cynical streak and loves to rub James face in the shadier parts of the Catholic Church.Local serial killer Freddie Joyce (Domhnall Gleeson) asks to meet with James. Freddie has killed a bunch of people and led the police to all the bodies except the last one. He cant remember where it is because he was tripping on acid at the time. He also ate the flesh of his victims. He makes jokes and James asks why he wanted to meet. Freddie says that he is actually sorry and begins to cry. James just stares at him.James is sweeping up his church when one of the local youths Milo (Killian Scott) surprises him. Milo is upset because he doesn't know how to talk to the ladies. He also says that he's thinking of joining the army. James says that killing is a sin. He explains, "As far as I'm concerned people join the army to find out what its like to kill someone. I hardly think that's an inclination that should be encouraged in modern society. Do you?" Milo says he does have in interest in taking a life. James tells him a better alternative would be to go some place with more girls like Dublin, London or New York City.There's a party at the bar that night. Dr. Harte is doing lines of cocaine with Veronica. Fiona finds him attractive. James asks that she stay away from him. Fiona says he doesn't need to worry because shes so not into cocaine anymore. Its festive. Then someone notices that the church is on fire. Everyone in town runs to it, but its too late. The next day, its burned to the ground.Michael meets with James and Father Leary. He apologizes to James for his behavior the other day and writes them a check to go towards a new church. First its going to be for 10,000 euros, but he ups it to 20,000. James says "if money doesn't really matter; why not make it 50k?" Michael ends up writing it for 100,000 euros and leaves. During this whole exchange, Leary tells Michael he's a really good man. Michael assures him that he's not. He also points out that the church could probably use the money since they had to pay so much in damages for all the priest pedophilia. Leary dismisses that as something that happened a long time ago and hasn't really been an issue in the church for about 50 years.Walter meets with The Writer and tells him he's gotten him a gun. Its not the gun he wanted, but it's a gun that works. The Writer asks for it, but James says its not with him right now. When he leaves, he finds that someone has cut his dogs throat. He cries as he buries his dog.The next day his daughter is leaving and she explains that when she lost her mom, James joined the church so in a sense she lost both parents and that was really hard on her. She leaves, asking that James say goodbye to the dog because she didn't see it this morning. He promised he would.James goes to the bar and gets drunk. He confronts Leo who says he's the way he is because he was raped by priests and bishops. Jack and Simon are even getting along and playing chess. At the end of the night, Simon and the barkeep smoke weed and say that its time for James to go. James refuses, pulls out the gun and shoots up the bar. When the pistol is empty, the barkeep pulls out a bat.Bloodied, James gets home where he runs into Leary. In a drunken rage, he tells Leary how completely useless he is and that he'd be better suited to be an accountant or something like that.The next morning, James wakes up to find Leary is leaving. Leary is hurt and surprised because he had no idea how much James hated him. James says he doesn't hate him at all, he just finds him to have no integrity, and that's worse. He also wishes him the best of luck.James, realizing that no matter how hard he tries and no matter how much he believes in the town people, they just don't feel the same, decides to leave. He backs his few possessions and goes to the airport. There he runs into the widow of the man from the car accident. His body is being loaded on the plane and two baggage handlers lean on the coffin like its furniture. James changes his mind and goes back to town.He stands on the rocks of the beach and Michael approaches. Michael says the he genuinely feels bad and wants help. James tells him hell meet him later. The Writer sees James and tells him he finished his book and asks if he and James can hang out for a bit. James says he has to meet someone, but they'll catch up later. He calls his daughter and she starts to ask about her sins. James says there's been too much talk of sinning already and he'd rather talk about virtue. He says he's always felt his biggest virtue was his ability to forgive. Fiona says she forgives him. He hangs up the phone, and walks past the altar server to the beach to confront his killer.Jack shows up and is surprised that he didn't have to chase down James. James says he doesn't have to do this. Jack says he does. James says he understands burning down the church, but doesn't get why he had to kill his dog. Jack says he didn't. James has been in pain for a long time from the abuse of the Catholic Church and needs to do this. He asks if James cried when he found his dog. He did. He asks if he cried when he read reports of all the children who were molested by priests. He did not. He explains that he felt detached from that. Jack shoots him in the gut and asks if he still feels detached. The altar server hears the gun shot and runs up. James tells him to run. Jack points the gun at James and tells him to stop looking at him. He can't do this if James is looking at him. James won't break the stare, so Jack turns away and shoots James dead, through the head.James lies dead on the beach.Everyone in town continues on with their lives.Jack is now in prison for the murder. Fiona visits him. She picks up the phone to talk to him through the glass. He hesitates picking up his end, but does. She tears up.Fade To Black.

Tags: revenge, comedy, murder

Review:
Father James (Brendan Gleeson), a village priest in a coastal village in Ireland, is told in the confessional that one of his parishioners is going to kill him.
This loss of faith is portrayed very vividly, it is expressed more strongly than in reality I think.The film revolves around the character of Father James Lavelle played powerfully by Brendan Gleeson.
The majority of the movie is spent in local pubs and homes, laying witness to rich conversations between Gleeson and struggling townspeople whether it concerns his suicidal daughter (Kelly Reilly), a corrupt, yet conscience-stricken, banker (Dylan Moran), or an elderly man on the brink of death, enjoying the sound of a typewriter's clinking as he writes his final story (M.
And in this case, Calvary begins with an unknown individual who enters the confessional to discuss his prior sins with Gleeson only to actually begin spouting his utter anger at the church, recalling his years of youth when he "first tasted semen at the mere age of 7." His abhorrence for the clergy has stayed with him to this day and to the point where he vows to murder an innocent priest (Gleeson) as he was once attacked as an innocent boy—the desecration of purity or decency (though this man is not aware of the fact that Father James was once an alcoholic and fought with his own fair share of sins; he's not exactly the most guiltless being anyway).Similar to last year's Philomena, Calvary emphasizes and criticizes the various facets that have wounded the Catholic Church's public image and forever changed many people's views of these institutions.
As usual Brendan Gleeson proves he is one of the finest Irish actors around playing the likable priest who realises the worlds problems are real.The end of the movie will leave you thinking and in all likelihood the cinema will be in silence and that is a sign of what this film has achieved...
Calvary, a subtly powerful independent film starring Brendan Gleeson as Pastor James Lavelle in a small Irish town, has the horror of abuse mitigated by an Agatha Christie-like thriller premise, an effective distraction that allows us to ramble around meeting parishioners, one of whom is the man who vowed in the confessional he'd murder Fr. James in a week.
Set over a period of seven days (the time it took for God to create the world), CALVARY can be viewed on one level as a detective story, as we try to discover the identity of the man who vows to kill the Priest (Brendan Gleeson) in revenge for the man's abuse during his childhood by another member of the Catholic Church.
Mr. McDonagh is immensely talented and seems to be a natural at keeping his viewers unsure of what's coming.Set and filmed in a western Irish coastal town, the film has a most unusual first scene, including an acknowledgment of such as the priest (Gleeson) says "Certainly a startling opening line".
The Catholic Church, and all that implies these days, certainly plays a key role, but more than that, this is about the make-up and character of people.This is not the place to go into detail about the story, as the film is best unwrapped and interpreted by each viewer.
The plot follows a priest who receives a death threat in the confessional and his struggle with how to respond, as well as with the foibles of his parishioners.The primary strength of the film is Brendan Gleeson's performance.
In a Sunday morning in a small town in Ireland, a parishioner confesses to Father James (Brendan Gleeson) the sexual abuse he was submitted by a priest when he was a child.
Along the week, Father James has to deal with his troubled and estranged daughter Fiona Lavelle (Kelly Reilly) that tried to commit suicide; with the disturbed butcher Jack Brennan (Chris O'Dowd) that hit his unfaithful wife Veronica (Orla O'Rourke); with her aggressive lover Simon (Isaach De Bankolé); with an old writer (M.
This is an example of a character-driven film which is well worth taking the time and patience to invest in the characters and the story.This film probably has one of the most memorable opening lines in film history so keep the volume turned up for the beginning.There are plenty of scenes which required a bit too much patience and I felt that one scene in particular was far too graphic, the scene was already poignant enough hence why the loss of 2 stars but there are so many hilarious lines and the mystery aspect was great.Brendan Gleeson was awesome as usual (loved him in The Guard (2011), a favourite of mine) and Aidan Gillen was good but what is wrong with his voice?
At least for those who like good movies regardless of their genre or story.No danger of spoilers from me, I see no need to discuss the story or summarize it a way that unfailingly serves only to demean a good story (which takes at least 80 minutes or 120 pages to tell) and spoil it's impact to some degree.By way of review though my justification for recommending this film is the acting, especially Brendan who is superb in the main role, but all the characters are believable and have depth.
In Georges Bernanos' novel The Diary of a Country Priest, a sickly, humble, and idealistic young priest pays the ultimate price for the spiritual lethargy of his parish, while Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) in John Michael McDonagh's brilliant Calvary is vulnerable to the malicious cynicism of his community.
Unlike the Curé d'Ambricourt, however, Father James is a physically strong and robust man with a tough skin born of adversity, but is betrayed by those who have lost faith, not only in the secular and religious institutions of man, but in themselves and humanity.One of the more thoughtful and intelligent films of the year, Calvary is billed as a comedy/drama, but the drama is bleak and the comedy is of the mean-spirited variety.
The father visits a staunchly atheistic doctor (Aiden Gillen) who quips that a group of teenagers who were killed in a car accident and a tourist from France are in the morgue "where they belong", a police inspector (Gary Lydon) whose sexual tastes lean towards boy prostitutes such as his "regular" (Owen Sharpe), and an unhappy young man (Killian Scott) who wants to express his violent tendencies by joining the army.As Father James, Brendan Gleeson delivers a powerfully authentic performance that captures the nuance of the character in all his complexities, especially apparent in a scene of exquisite gentleness with a woman (Marie-Josee Croze) who has just lost her husband but maintains her faith, and with a conversation with Fiona, his troubled daughter (a terrific Kelly Reilly) as they stroll along the beach.
The inspiration has finally arrived after viewing John Michael McDonagh's piercing Irish tragedy, Calvary.The film opens to a beautifully constructed long take of a still Father James (Brendan Gleeson), hearing the confession of an unseen man.
Also disclosed is his upcoming, long awaited act of vengeance; killing Father James, despite being totally innocent of the crimes in question.From there, we follow Father James on what could potentially be his final week alive, as he attempts to counsel and manage the various complex characters in his small Irish cliff-side town, as well as an ignorant coworker and an emotionally distressed daughter.Gleeson's depiction of Father James is handled with tender dignity, a man dedicated to serving the spiritual wellness of his community as a pillar of support, despite being perceived as a mere expected intervention for a lot of people's unsavoury behaviour.
Unlike Blue Ruin (Which I absolutely loved and you can find my review on this website) I had heard of Calvary apart from my favorite movie podcast when I saw the trailer on IMDb, and wow it looked compelling as a promising dark comedy."Well that's a startling start" is a great way to describe the opening scene of Calvary, starting Brendan Gleeson as Father James.
I wouldn't knock any of the best actor nominations for the Academy Awards this year (it is 2015 at the time of writing this review by the way!) because of the ones I have seen they also did an amazing job, and the other two I haven't seen yet so I'm not qualified to judge (yet) - but I will say that Brendan Gleeson really did a fantastic job in this movie and he easily could have been nominated himself, I would not have been surprised in the least if he was.
Actually I would go so far as to say that if this movie were made in Hollywood and was better known in the U.S. he probably would have gotten a nomination, or at least more consideration and praise.He's a great actor in everything I've seen him in so far and I hope he does a lot more movies in the future!In this one he plays a Catholic priest with a good heart who ends up caught up with the wrong people and trying to do the right thing for everyone concerned.
I'm gonna kill you cause your innocent." Father James (Gleeson) is the priest in a little Irish town and is well liked.
Brendan Gleeson who plays Father James in the movie does a brilliant job acting as in my opinion a modern day priest.
Brendan Gleeson again takes the lead, and with his performance as Father James, a good-natured priest given a week to live, he proves that he is one of Britain's acting giants.The film begins with Father James being visited by an unseen man for a confession.
Emmet Walsh) who wishes the end his own life whilst he is still control of it; a socially-inept young horndog (Killian Scott); a stinking-rich businessman (Dylan Moran) who is drinking himself to death; and a strange police chief (Gary Lydon) who frequently frolics with a young male prostitute (Owen Sharpe).Their scenes play out in multi-layered conversations, slowly unravelling their own grievances with the Church, as the film tries to keep you guessing the identity of Father James's killer.
Whether it warrants this is in the eye of the beholder, but I would say that such things probably do not help the film a great deal because it is not a film so universal that the vast majority of viewers will get what they expect when they only see the high praise; okay this is not the film's fault but I think there is something to be said for putting all that to one side before coming to the film.The plot sees Catholic priest Father James in a country parish be confronted in confession by a man who says he was sexually abused throughout his childhood by a priest, and that as a result he would take revenge by killing Father James a week from today on the beach.
Gleeson's Father James Lavelle is a priest so full of history and thought that there would be enough within his own story arc to fill countless films.
A man previously prone to the drink and the fight, Father Lavelle is a man not only learning to deal with his faith, but learning to deal with the death of his wife, his estranged daughter and worst of all a township in which the Churches' ever growing public backlash is in full effect, to the point of his very life being threatened by a person in his church confessional, setting in forward motion a story once more layered with social, political and spiritual commentary.McDonagh's top notch script features a huge collection of well written and relatable characters all played by a cast that is clearly relishing a chance to work their magic on some very ripe material.
From usual funny men Chris O'Dowd as local butcher Jack Brennan and Dylan Moran as unpredictable businessman Michael Fitzgerald through to everyone's favorite Game of Thrones creep (and not to forget favorite ever fictional Mayor, Thomas Carcetti) Aiden Gillin as non-believing and threatening doctor Frank Harte, Calvary is full to the brim with talent and scenes that will linger long in the memory, with a visit to prison by Father Lavelle (in an exchange that features Gleeson's real life son Domhnall) and a particularly spiteful speech by Dr. Harte the cream of the crop here.
This world of Calvary may not always be easy to live in but thanks to an award worthy turn by Gleeson and many of his supports and some fine scripting and directing work by the talented McDonagh, Calvary despite not being for everyone is one of the year's most memorable and at times touching films that defies being compared to any film you've yet seen.4 mistreated paintings out of 5 For more movie reviews and opinions check out - www.jordanandeddie.wordpress.com.
The movie, as most of you know from the trailer, opens up with a man threatening Brendan Gleeson's character, stating that he is going to kill him in a matter of days.
With beautiful shots of the Irish coast and a strongly complex dialog writing, John Michael McDonagh, whose previous film The Guard, also starred Brendan Gleeson, allows us to become greatly involved in the story developed inside a somewhat artificial Irish village.
As the countdown to the fateful day approaches, James tries to reconnect with those around him, including his daughter Fiona (Kelly Reilly) who's come down from London to see him, and try to put the past right.For his second feature length film project, John Michael McDonagh has reunited with quietly charismatic lead star Gleeson to produce something with an even more darkly comic edge than The Guard.
It takes a high concept idea and opts to use it to explore some of the darker edges of the human condition, including such troubling areas as domestic abuse and child murder, but in so doing, has crafted an enthralling and ambitious project that will keep you hooked to the end.Nobody could have done the lead role better than Gleeson, perfectly cast as the well meaning but world weary priest with 24/7 to resolve all his issues and put everything in to order, aided by great supporting turns from Reilly, Chris O' Dowd and even supporting acts like Dylan Moran and M.
'CALVARY': Four and a Half Stars (Out of Five)Irish drama film about a priest battling dark thoughts after his life is threatened during a confessional.
I found it to be a very dark and depressing film but ultimately fascinating and spiritually uplifting.The movie tells the story of Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson), a priest in a small rural Irish town.
At times it does feel heavily critical, of the catholic church, but it also shows all the good that priests, like Father James, do as well.
Brendan Gleeson is definitely the star of the show as Father James Lavelle, he delivers on so many levels; it's like acting just comes completely natural to him.
This film is highly recommended.It was an atypical day for Father James Lavelle in writer/director John Michael McDonagh's wry whodunit, Calvary, especially if you count a murder threat during confession.
Hidden Gem. I wasn't expecting much from this Irish drama but was pleasantly surprised at the content and thoroughly enjoyed this movie.The ever-reliable Brendan Gleeson plays Father James a quietly well-meaning priest who is threatened by an unknown during confession.
The movie shows the following week as Father James tries to go about his duties whilst having the threat hanging over his head.It is no one-man show and excellent support is given by Game of Thrones actor Aiden Gillen as well as Dylan Moran and the 79 year old M.Emmet Walsh along with a few other familiar faces.The sensitive drama, accompanied by some darkly humour and often thought-provoking situations, is brilliantly acted, beautifully shot and is certainly a hidden gem.You will enjoy this movie and also come away thinking a lot about life..
Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is a priest in a small seaside Irish town.
I think he did, and all this once again with Gleeson's superb performance as Father James, who seems to bear the cross for the morally corrupt and evil doings of the church.A small Irish coastal town implodes with the good Priest caught up in the whirlwind of all the guilt and the lost souls.
Opening on a very interesting note, heading all the way down from there on & then rising once again in its final moments to culminate on another high, Calvary is a meditation on religion, faith, sin, guilt, revenge, sacrifice & forgiveness that presents its tale in a very calculated manner but in spite of my modest expectations, its story didn't do much for me & the film as a whole is mostly a letdown.Set in a small Irish town, the story of Calvary covers one week in the life of Father James; the town priest who while hearing Sunday confessions gets a threat from one of his congregations who plans to kill him on next Sunday because he's a good priest.
The film opens with Brendan Gleeson's Father James being told a detailed story about a man's repeated sexual abuse by a priest when he was a young boy, and tells Father James that he will kill him the following Sunday for the crimes because he "did nothing wrong." The man justifies his actions by saying it would be more disconcerting for the Catholic Church to see a good priest die rather than one who was innocent and kind-hearted, doing everything he could to use his heartbreak to assist others.
An introspective and profound film, Calvary explores the sentiment of morals and religion through a medley of provocative characters against the Irish landscape.Calvary is a unique whodunnit in which a good Catholic priest, played by Brendan Gleeson, is told in confession that he will be murdered in one week in order to atone for the sins of his more vile and malevolently wicked predecessors.In confession Father James, played by Brendan Gleeson, hears a man confess to being raped by a priest when he was seven.