Film: Calvary

Well see, what happened was that Locke was the highest rated film (according to IMDB)showing in London today - that I hadn't seen and would be interested in seeing (my usual criteria). But when I checked its rating some days later, it had slipped slightly - putting it on a par with Calvary, which I would rather see. So I did. (My mother didn't fancy going to the cinema over the weekend, after all.)

It's unfortunate that, unlike Locke, it isn't showing in my local cinema. The nearest place, in fact, that it's showing is in the Odeon Kensington - still walking distance, but that bit further. It's actually closer to the office - but the only evening showing is at 8, which meant that I had to go home first and go from there. And it was raining, too. Bah humbug!

I didn't bother waiting for someone to rip my ticket - I know better here, now, and there was nobody anyway. I meandered my way to Screen 6, and arrived during a trailer for another Irish film - Jimmy's Hall. A typically gritty-looking Ken Loach film, it's released next month and not yet rated. Looks worth a look - set in the 30s.

And so to Calvary. Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, who also wrote and directed The Guard, Calvary stars a veritable who's who of Irish talent. Brendan Gleeson, who also starred in The Guard, stars in Calvary as the parish priest of a small Sligo village. No mistaking the location - the bulk of Ben Bulben looms large throughout the film, an ominous landmark to match the dark deeds taking place in its shadow. His son, Domhnall Gleeson, has one scene, as a young man imprisoned for murder. David Wilmot, who also appeared in The Guard, plays the hapless curate, Orla O' Rourke the local femme fatale, and Gary Lydon the local not-so-long-arm of the law.

And, as is apparent from the trailer, the thing is packed with comedians!

• Chris O' Dowd is the butcher, unfortunately married to Orla O' Rourke, poor chap!
• Dylan Moran is the best I've seen him, as the local financier that everyone loves to hate.
• Pat Shortt, another cast member from The Guard, is the publican.
• Finally, in an inspired piece of casting that's hilarious in itself, David McSavage is the bishop! Anyone that's familiar with his satirical series, The Savage Eye, will appreciate - given how much he lambasts the Catholic Church - just how much he must have relished playing a bishop..

If you've seen the trailer, you know that the basic story concerns the priest, who, in the first scene of the film, is hearing confession when the man confessing explains that he plans to kill him in a week. He, apparently, recognises the voice - we spend most of the film wondering who it is, and there are a couple of red herrings, naturally. If you have a good ear for voices, you might get it before it's revealed, but it ain't made easy.

Before I saw this, I remember discussing it with another Irish person who hadn't seen it, and who was dubious. Despite its popularity in the UK, he put it down to the general popularity of Irish films abroad, and was suspicious that it would be full of twee characters.

Boy, was he wrong.

An early line - the priest, in the confessional, saying, "That's certainly a startling opening line" - got a laugh from the back. That was the last time anyone laughed in that cinema during this film. Which isn't to say that there aren't some terrific one-liners. And the aforementioned comedians are a joy to watch, vaguely humorous even when they're playing it straight.

But if this is a comedy, it's a very black one. This priest's community is a microcosm of modern Ireland, its members taking cheap potshots at Ireland's two favourite punching bags - the Church and the banks. Everybody has an axe to grind, and here is this honest, humble priest, with a true vocation, trying to bring a message that nobody wants to hear. This is a very, very powerful film, and makes a very serious point in a visceral way. The final scene is played in silence, and the credits roll over a black screen, in silence for about 60 seconds. You're meant to take a message from this film, which delivers it as effectively as it possibly can.

* * * * *

Go see. Film of the year so far.

Well! For tomorrow, I got THE very last ticket for 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Barbican. Sold out tonight and on Friday. We'll see whether the production merits such enthusiasm! It's a modern setting for a 17th-century play - always interesting to see how they go. And then Hard Façade is playing again on Friday - at Club 229. Must see about tickets for their next two gigs tomorrow..