Calvary = 2: an experience of usually intense mental suffering.
Calvary is one of those films that will stay with you long after you've watched, because of how it starts, how it develops, how it ends, and how it is performed. The title really fits the story, because the main character, Fr James, will live a sort of Christ's Calvary before being killed just for being a good man.
This is a sad story, that touched me deeply because it starts with a very thoughtful approach to pastoral care, the goodness of people, helping those in need, troubled souls who seek counsel and those who don't. Yet, the more the time passes the more despair and wickedness settle in. Fr James' flock is mostly of black sheep, who don't give a damn about the only man on whom they vomit their crap, hurt on purpose, use and abuse him. No matter how much he cares, no matter how much the good he does, he founds scorn, disrespect, passive aggression, and threats. We see this good character taking so much, and having nobody to care for him, to help him with the load. We go from hope to despair, and that is never easy to watch. The film also touches on very sensitive issues like child abuse by the Catholic church, and it does so in a very provoking way, the final dialogues in the film are really brilliant despite how horrendous the end is.
The dialogues are brilliant, meaningful and powerful. From death, the afterlife, happiness and euthanasia, family connections, the state of the soul, cheating, and so on.
This film relies heavily on the acting. No gimmicks. I thought all actors were great and believable in their respective roles, and they were very good together. However, the film heavily relies on we believing that Brendan Glesson is the good but tormented Fr James, and I did believe it. The impacting ending, to me, was mostly because I was watching Fr James's drama unfold, not an actor playing Fr James's drama. Gleeson deserved a nomination for his performance, really. I'm a fan of Chris O'Dowd; he has an amazing acting register from hilarious comedian to dramatic roles like the one he plays here.
The film is beautifully shot in a remote rural area of Western Ireland and has a lovely soundtrack and cinematography.
My only criticism to the film is that we don't get to understand why most of the villagers are so wicked, so cynic, so sarcastic, so rotten, arrogant, and careless. We witness the social dynamics of the group, but we don't understand most of the individuals. Yet, we do understand Fr James, and his faith, his innate goodness.
They don't make movies like this in Hollywood.
Calvary is one of those films that will stay with you long after you've watched, because of how it starts, how it develops, how it ends, and how it is performed. The title really fits the story, because the main character, Fr James, will live a sort of Christ's Calvary before being killed just for being a good man.
This is a sad story, that touched me deeply because it starts with a very thoughtful approach to pastoral care, the goodness of people, helping those in need, troubled souls who seek counsel and those who don't. Yet, the more the time passes the more despair and wickedness settle in. Fr James' flock is mostly of black sheep, who don't give a damn about the only man on whom they vomit their crap, hurt on purpose, use and abuse him. No matter how much he cares, no matter how much the good he does, he founds scorn, disrespect, passive aggression, and threats. We see this good character taking so much, and having nobody to care for him, to help him with the load. We go from hope to despair, and that is never easy to watch. The film also touches on very sensitive issues like child abuse by the Catholic church, and it does so in a very provoking way, the final dialogues in the film are really brilliant despite how horrendous the end is.
The dialogues are brilliant, meaningful and powerful. From death, the afterlife, happiness and euthanasia, family connections, the state of the soul, cheating, and so on.
This film relies heavily on the acting. No gimmicks. I thought all actors were great and believable in their respective roles, and they were very good together. However, the film heavily relies on we believing that Brendan Glesson is the good but tormented Fr James, and I did believe it. The impacting ending, to me, was mostly because I was watching Fr James's drama unfold, not an actor playing Fr James's drama. Gleeson deserved a nomination for his performance, really. I'm a fan of Chris O'Dowd; he has an amazing acting register from hilarious comedian to dramatic roles like the one he plays here.
The film is beautifully shot in a remote rural area of Western Ireland and has a lovely soundtrack and cinematography.
My only criticism to the film is that we don't get to understand why most of the villagers are so wicked, so cynic, so sarcastic, so rotten, arrogant, and careless. We witness the social dynamics of the group, but we don't understand most of the individuals. Yet, we do understand Fr James, and his faith, his innate goodness.
They don't make movies like this in Hollywood.