The Guard (2011)

An unorthodox Irish policeman with a confrontational personality is partnered with an up-tight F.B.I. agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.

Director:

John Michael McDonagh

Writer:

John Michael McDonagh

Stars:

Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 17 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ronan Collins	...	Young Man in Car
Paraic Nialand	...	Young Man in Car
John Patrick Beirne	...	Young Man in Car
Liam O'Conghaile	...	Young Man in Car
Christopher Kilmartin	...	Young Man in Car
Brendan Gleeson	...	Gerry Boyle
Rory Keenan	...	Aidan McBride
Declan Mannlen	...	James McCormick (as Declan Mannion)
Laurence Kinlan	...	Photographer
Michael Og Lane	...	Eugene Moloney (as Mícheál Óg Lane)
Liam Cunningham	...	Francis Sheehy-Skeffington
Owen Sharpe	...	Billy Devaney
Fionnula Flanagan	...	Eileen Boyle
Wale Ojo	...	Doctor Oleyuwo
Don Cheadle	...	FBI Agent Wendell Everett

Storyline

Sergeant Gerry Boyle is a small-town Irish cop with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought straight-laced FBI agent Wendell Everett to his door.

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Plot Keywords:

small town | drug smuggling | galway ireland | mother son relationship | ireland | 

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Taglines:

The FBI are about to discover that things work a little different around here.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive language, some violence, drug material and sexual content

Did You Know?

Trivia

The boat wanted by the police and containing the drugs is called the "Annabel Lee", ostensibly named for the poem written in 1849 by Edgar Allan Poe.

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Goofs

The diner Boyle meets the prostitute in is one of the "Eddie Rocket's" chain. They are joined by Francis Sheehy, carrying a bottle of "Corona Extra" beer. While no alcoholic beverages are served at Eddie Rocket's at any time, clearly Sheehy brought it with him.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Sergeant Gerry Boyle: [red car speeds past his speed trap, tires screech, car crashes]
Sergeant Gerry Boyle: [finds drugs in the pocket of dead teen] I don't think your mammy would be too pleased about that now.
Sergeant Gerry Boyle: [walks aside and swallows one of the pills] What a beautiful fuckin' day.

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Connections

Featured in Maltin on Movies: Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

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Soundtracks

Rock Star
Written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo
Performed by N.E.R.D.

User Reviews

'I'm Irish. Racism is part of my culture.'

Something there is that is charming about films set in Ireland with Irish characters speaking in beautiful brogue and THE GUARD fits into that category very comfortably. Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh this is a funny, fast-paced film that manages to poke fun at many points of bigotry (anti-American, racism, the gay lifestyle, etc) in a manner that keeps the comedy rolling. In many ways the film is comparable to the film IN BRUGES, if that helps the reader to categorize in a positive way.

Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleason) is a small-town Irish cop in Western Ireland with a confrontational personality, a subversive sense of humor, a dying mother, a fondness for prostitutes, and absolutely no interest whatsoever in the international cocaine-smuggling ring that has brought straight-laced FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle, in a role that allows him to display his comedic gifts) to his door. Boyle's partner, a gay man Aidan McBride (Rory Keenan), the brunt of many of Boyle's jokes, is shot while making a traffic arrest by the drug smuggling gang (Mark Strong, Liam Cunningham, Owen Sharpe, Michael Og Lane) which leaves the cantankerous Boyle to align with the American black FBI agent Everett to solve the case. What begins as a fiction filled alignment ends up as a touching friendship.

McConagh's writing and direction are as fine as they come for films of this sort. It will be necessary for most viewers to turn on the subtitles to understand the brogue (the few Gaelic passages are not translated!). The cast, from the major roles to the minor ones (especially the extraordinarily beautiful Katarina Cas) including Laurence Kinlan and Fionnula Flanagan, is superb. This is a very fine comedy well worth the attention of a very wide audience!

Grady Harp

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Ireland

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

7 July 2011 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

The Guard

Filming Locations:

Wicklow Harbour, Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$76,834, 31 July 2011

Gross USA:

$5,360,274

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,561,904

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reprisal Films, Element Pictures, Hindsight Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1