The Guard
Part of the fun of film festivals is seeing the unexpected choices that are made for opening night films. One such case from Sundance last year was The Guard, an Irish buddy-cop caper starring Brendan Gleeson (fittingly) and Don Cheadle (surprisingly), which opened the international competition. An odd choice to be sure given the political tone of Sundance, but who can resist a bombastic Irish cop and a straight-laced FBI agent (guess who plays who) getting caught up in murder, blackmail, and drug trafficking in the sleepy green hills of Erin?
Released during the worst recession Ireland had experienced in decades and in the face of talks of axing the Irish Film Board, the film’s critical success was a nice boost to the struggling island nation (if not financially, at least morally). Rather silly and crass, the film makes for a solid Sunday outing, perhaps after a pint of Guinness and some soda bread. Or not.