Although The Guard is primarily a language romp, it's also a terrific showcase for veteran pug-faced character actor Brendan Gleeson.
The Guard
The FBI are about to discover that things work a little differently around here.
2011 · 1h 36m · R
Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Directed by
John Michael McDonagh
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The Guard
Overview
When a small-town Irish cop with a crass personality is partnered with a straight-laced FBI agent to bust an international drug-trafficking ring, they must settle their differences in order to take down a dangerous gang.
Director and cast
- John Michael McDonagh Director
- Brendan Gleeson as Sergeant Gerry Boyle
- Don Cheadle as FBI agent Wendell Everett
- Liam Cunningham as Francis Sheehy
- Mark Strong as Clive Cornell
- Katarina Čas as Gabriela McBride
- David Wilmot as Liam O'Leary
- Rory Keenan as Garda Aidan McBride
- Laurence Kinlan as Photographer
- Dominique McElligott as Aoife O'Carroll
- Sarah Greene as Sinead Mulligan
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
Brendan Gleeson is a blooming marvel.
Crisp, acid-tongued and sharply acted, it's the sort of exercise in tangy Celtic cynicism that's become one of the Emerald Isle's most reliable imports.
There are few things finer in cinema than Brendan Gleeson's fat, happy face.
McDonagh's script is agile, darting between the ridiculous, the sage and the surprisingly sentimental. His love of language and the absurd has hints of the wisecracking Quentin Tarantino. But the story is decidedly more rooted in Ireland's loamy turf.
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