Calvary (John Michael McDonagh)

[Winston*]

IMDB

[Winston*]

This hit me really hard. Did not expect that.

[Boner M]

Didn't really care for it, beyond Gleeson power. Every character feels like a conduit for Profane/Worldly McDonagh Wisdom™.

[dreamdead]

This one is schematic, but it oddly doesn't hinder my appreciation for what McDonagh aims to explore. Both Gleesons are fantastic, and while several of the villagers are too nakedly passive aggressive to be wholly realistic, I take this film as more of an allegory than as strictly documenting humanity. It has the air of inevitability, but it still comes off as smarter and more exploratory with its dialogue than the similarly schematic Birdman.

The idea of crying over a dog but not the sexually violated is more powerful to me, and legitimate, than the various flaws.

[Peng]

I liked the performances, but almost can't stand the glibness. Feels like a Wes Anderson sensibility dropped in a Mike Leigh setting, and they clash bad.