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Led by a brilliant performance from Brendan Gleeson, Calvary tackles weighty issues with humor, intelligence, and sensitivity. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
An honest and good-hearted priest (Brendan Gleeson) wrestles with a cynical, spiteful community after he receives a death threat from an unknown parishioner.
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Rating: R (Language|Brief Strong Violence|Sexual References|Some Drug Use)
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Genre: Drama, Comedy
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Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
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Director: John Michael McDonagh
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Producer: Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez-Marengo, James Flynn
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Writer: John Michael McDonagh
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $3.6M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Fox Searchlight
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Production Co: Reprisal Films, Irish Film Board, Octagon Films, Lipsync Productions
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News & Interviews for Calvary
Critic Reviews for Calvary
Audience Reviews for Calvary
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Much about this piece seems amateur and, apart from Brendan Gleeson's hulking beauty and hard-won compassion, the performances are wildly uneven and the editing is choppy. It's trying to show Ireland, all at once, and that's a huge ambition, and it fails. Several great comedians are in this film and there's no laughs: brutal men get a lot of talk-time and I'm not sure that women really get their place: the female characters are largely reactive and too pretty and sentimental. But if you want to see 'Father Ted' recast as Lear then off you go.
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The story of a man staying true to what he believes in while surrounded by madness. Gleeson is phenomenal.
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Exceedingly bleak, weighty, and inaccessible, Calvary is a film that feels like it should pack more of a punch than it does. Set in Ireland, the film follows Father James, a good man in a decidedly amoral word, who finds himself staring down the threat of murder through no fault of his own. Calvary's greatest strength is undoubtedly the performance of Brendan Gleeson, which is rightly described as brilliant. He completely inhibits his role, and greatly humanizes the priesthood in a way that I have not seen before. He anchors the cast around him, who seem to resent his fortitude and strength in their own plights. The writing supplies us with witty dry humor, and the script takes on some tough subjects. What then, is the problem with Calvary? It feels bleak for the sake of bleak. Redemption, no pun intended, is really nowhere to be found. All of the problems of those in the community, their entire personalities, seem to be mere vehicles for his antagonism. In this sense, the film feels contrived. Its ultimate message is also hard to discern, lacking the execution to really tackle those issues it pretends to have a commentary on. It's simply dreary, with no real greater purpose. We don't empathize with the characters, nor the events they find themselves in, so we ultimately don't feel involved. Depressing to a fault, inaccessible. 2.5/5 Stars
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Edgy and provocative, Calvary is a gritty character drama. The story follows a Catholic priest who's faced with a moral dilemma when he receives a death threat from a confessor who suffered sexual abuse as a child and holds the Church responsible. Brendan Gleeson gives an incredible performance that has a lot of nuance and depth. And, the characters are especially well-written and feel real. However, the priest comes off as rather ineffective; which could be the point, but weakens the character. Also, the threat ends up getting pushed into the background and loses its urgency once the film gets caught up in the townspeople and the priest's routine. While Calvary deals some very powerful themes, it has a little trouble staying focused.
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