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 Golden Globe. 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:

number five and a half | shot in the head | riding a bicycle with training wheels | interrogation | drinking from a flask | 

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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

Sgt Boyle wears sergeant's chevrons on his uniform sleeve but wears the shoulder boards of a regular Garda (officer).

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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: Iron Man 3 Special (2013)

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Soundtracks

Everything Happens To Me
Written by Matt Dennis and Tom Adair
Performed by Chet Baker

User Reviews

Funny, entertaining, but flawed.

I saw this movie in Galway at the film Fleadh. Dit it entertain me? Absolutely. Would I buy it on DVD / Blu Ray ? Another yes. Funnier than The Hangover [1st film] In my opinion yes. However just like that film you have to decide very early on to suspend your disbelief and just go along for the ride.

I feel a little for John Michael McDonagh as he will no doubt always walk in the shadow of his brother. Which is a burden most writer / directors do not have to deal with. Already an early reviewer has compared it to In Bruges. I think I gave In Bruges a ten star rating. This has an eight. In Bruges - as extraordinary as it was - had a whiff of truth about it and the danger in the movie was real. Here the action is so cartoon that it generates no tension at all, and you never really fear for the characters. Of course Gleeson is in both movies and in my opinion give a much better performance in In Bruges. . Here he is just having fun. Who can blame him... The characters in The Guard are drawn with very broad brush strokes, and lack any kind of subtlety. The sub-plot involving Fionnula Flanagan feels bolted on and slows the movie down. It's intended to show the main character has a softer side, but you can get that through the thrust of the main story, and the elements are there to take advantage of this. Simple things that could have been done to add a little more realism and heart to the movie that would have generated greater emotion, depth of feeling, tension, jeopardy and ultimately bigger laughs.

At the Q & A afterward it was suggested the script was written in 13 days. Clearly that was just a first draft - but I do think subsequent drafts were not worked hard enough. As sometimes there isn't enough breathing space between the jokes... so the bigger gags / situations don't build in the way they should. Or a moment of compassion is lost because a laugh comes rolling on top of it due to a cheap gag.In that respect it feels to me as if the writer / director is still learning pace and rhythm. It's very common in comedy where a writer doesn't want to lose what he feels is a good gag - but sometimes you have to cut gag A in order to get a bigger laugh on gag B. A stronger script editor on the film could have made all the difference.

So all in all it is a bravo. I very much enjoyed the movie. I do expect John Michael McDonagh to go on to bigger and better things and I wish the movie great success. After all 8/10 is a great score.

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