The latest - and certainly not the last - collaboration between writer/director John Michael McDonagh and actor Brendan Gleeson marks the second installment in their loosely planned trilogy. Here, Gleeson plays a good-natured Catholic priest who finds himself targeted by a man who offers up his intentions to kill him whilst in the confession box. At once, McDonagh's movie becomes a procedural, a thriller, and a meditation on life and death, all brought together wonderfully through McDonagh's trademark dialogue and Gleeson's tour de force performance. McDonagh and Gleeson's first team-up, The Guard, was a satisfying, confident, and deftly underrated picture. Here, both men are working at the top of their game; there is so much to love about Calvary, in all its sad and brilliantly funny moments, that it demands to be seen at least twice - just to let it all sink in. What could have been an awkward tonal mash-up becomes increasingly fascinating as the movie goes on. Witty and poetic in equal measure, it's undoubtably one of the year's best films - and a strong contender for Best Screenplay.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
