I first saw a preview for “Calvary” before my viewing of “The Drop” and I immediately put it in my Netflix queue and thrust it to the top position. The trailer looked so good I spent the next 72 hours in great anticipation of a movie that I had never even heard of.
Released in 2014, “Calvary” is an independent Irish film that was written and directed by the talented artist John Michael McDonagh and winner of several independent type awards throughout the British Isles.
“Calvary” begins with a priest in a rural and breathtaking Irish hamlet seated in his church confessional. The film gets a jumpstart from the opening line when an unseen parishioner divulges that he was raped by a priest when he was seven years old.
The man then tells an obviously shocked Father James (Brendan Gleeson) that he will kill him in exactly one week – a form of retribution against the priest that molested him and the Catholic Church for the cover-up. “There’s no point in killing a bad priest.” The mystery man advises. “But killing a good one?”
The setting of “Calvary” is something out of medieval lore. The beautiful Irish coast crashes at the base of a rolling green countryside and the rocky foreboding beaches of County Sligo, surrounding the small town of Easky where the story takes place.
The only thing more colorful than the Irish backdrop is the inhabitants of the town and parishioners of Father James’ church. All know each other by name and have full privy to everyone else’s private business. All are suspects in the threat against Father James.
An interesting aspect of the film “Calvary” is that there is not one scene in the entire piece that is devoid of the main character. Brendan Gleeson owns the role of Father James and dominates the movie with his performance. I struggle to recall another movie in which one character is involved in literally every single scene.
Father James is a dutiful priest – the type one would envision all priests being like in a perfect world. He is shown to have genuine concern for his parishioners, and good relationships with his altar servers and fellow priests.
But as the days of the week tick closer to his assassination, the human side of Father James is revealed as well. McDonagh deals with the darker sides every man, even one sworn to the cloth, must face, from emotional and physical restraint to sexual temptation.
In contrast, the large number of secondary characters, each plagued with their own set of issues, appear in just one or two scenes each. Father James has a daughter from a marriage many years before he took his scared vows. Fiona (Kelly Reilly) is beautiful but troubled, the unusual relationship with her father is a focal point throughout.
Other characters add intrigue, such as Jack the Butcher (Chris O’Dowd) or the atheist Doctor Frank Harte (Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillan) – both potential culprits for the announced execution of Father James.
While just over 90 minutes in length, “Calvary” drags a bit as the story unfolds. I found the plot to be an interesting one and Gleeson superb. While the setting is immaculate, too many characters are introduced in a short period of time, and as such the dialogue muddies down the story.
While the concept is brilliant, the movie itself fails to meet the standards of the trailer – if that makes sense.
The journey into the mind and soul of Father James is an excellent ride, but the litany of secondary characters gets confusing and dull, and the overall piece suffers as a result.
“Calvary” is a decent film. The acting, setting, and plot get perfect scores. But the overall movie doesn’t quite live up to perfection.
by – Matt Christopher
