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Tuesday, March 7, 2017

March Film Club

Hey everybody!  Well, March is here and hopefully winter will be extinguished for good and we'll actually have a spring, that would be something!
For the month of March we will be following the pattern we have over the past few years of playing an Irish film in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  In case you've forgotten some of those films include: Bloody Sunday, My Left Foot, The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Waking Ned Devine.  Some of those were very serious dramas, others, comedies.  This year we will be watching a black comedy.  The directorial debut of John Michael McDonagh, (brother of the very talented Martin McDonagh). The Guard.

(Before we get into the details of the film, I should note that we will be meeting the 5TH THURSDAY, MARCH 30th, rather than the 3rd Thursday.  This was a scheduling conflict so, my apologies.)

The Guard is 2011 Irish buddy cop comedy film written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Mark Strong and Liam Cunningham.  It is the most successful independent Irish film of all time in terms of Irish box-office receipts, overtaking The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006), which previously held this status.  The film received critical acclaim and was a box office success.  Both Gleeson and Cheadle received acclaim for their performances, with Gleeson receiving a nomination for a Golden Globe.  Reviews for The Guard were overwhelmingly positive.  It currently holds a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 125 reviews.  Roger Ebert awarded the film 3 1/2 stars and said this in his review, "Gleeson has a way in this movie of making outrageous statements with such openness that we can't be sure if he means them or what he means by them.  He makes a lot of comments about blacks that exist in a twilight zone between ignorance and guile.  Is he trying to offend Everett or is he simply clueless?  Is there a method to his cluelessness?  It isn't limited to race-related subjects; one of this film's pleasures is the way Gleeson's dialogue obliquely suggests a great deal of intelligence and wit.  The agent tells him: "I can't tell if you're really [bleeping] dumb or really [bleeping] smart."  McDonagh's fundamentals are formulas: good cop/bad cop, fish out of water, odd couple.  He leavens these familiar forms with an enchanting Irishness in which visitors at times suspect they are the butt of an unexpressed joke.  The local color is flawless.  "The Guard" is a pleasure.  I can't tell if it's really (bleeping) dumb or really (bleeping) smart, but it's pretty (bleeping) good."

I feel I should let you know before you attend that it is rated R and there is some consistent hard language throughout.  I almost didn't pick it but then I remembered that we watched Fargo and that you guys are all really open minded and awesome and that you could handle it.  So, I hope you decide to come on out and enjoy this film with me!
(REMEMBER: Thursday, March 30th at 6:15pm)

Here's the trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygVa2W2Qrac