Calvary 2014
I had no idea what this movie was about, just that it got good reviews and stars Brendan Gleeson. The picture of Gleeson makes it look a little like he is in the military and it is easy to mix up Calvary and Cavalry, but it turns out he is a priest in a small town in Ireland. Gleeson is good in his role, but while marketed somewhat as a dark comedy, it is just incredibly cynical as almost everyone in the movie is hateful and acts horribly towards Gleeson’s character. You find out in the first scene that one of these townspeople was abused by a priest as a child and tells Gleeson he will kill him. It just gets darker as it goes until the movie just swirls down the drain. I think some people will appreciate the wry philosophical banter that takes place and the damaged characters that inhabit the film. At one point the priest visits a cannibalistic serial killer in jail and maybe that guy isn’t in the top five worst people in the movie. I can see how the movie got raves from critics for being this dark, but I really hate movies about hate.
Written: 06 Jan 2022