The Guard is a film I’d heard good things about for a while and I wanted to see it though didn’t seem to be getting a release locally. Since I didn’t think I’d get to see it at home I took the opportunity while on a trip away to see it, and then again while visiting a friend, so I’ve actually had the chance to see it twice now at different cinemas. Once in a big Cineworld and once at a small independent cinema and both times I found it to be excellent and the audience response was very good, too.

The film begins with a fly over, following a car driving erratically on a country road, cutting inside to see lots of drinking going on, just as the pass a police car at the side of the road and this is where we meet Sargent Boyle, looking bored. The car crashes and Boyle sighs and goes over to find the driver and passengers dead, looking through the pockets of one of them he finds a bag of drugs. “Now I don’t think your Mammy would be too pleased about this” is his thoughts on finding the drugs. So he throws away all but one and takes it himself and exclaims “What a beautiful fucking day.” while looking out at the bleak west coast of Ireland landscape in the cloudy light. And this is the perfect introduction to Boyle. An unconventional cop to say the least.

After meeting the new lad, in from Dublin, at a murder scene, which is really the start of the plot. Tip offs and interviews follow. But Boyle is also summoned to a meeting with an FBI agent who’s in Ireland trying to stop the smuggling of cocaine with a “street value” of half a billion dollars. To which Boyle remarks “I often wonder what street you’re buying your cocaine on, because it’s a different street to what I’m buying mine on.” It turns out the guy who was murdered is part of the crew bringing in the cocaine and so Boyle now Boyle is trying to help out the FBI with this drugs bust, but tomorrow is his day off, for whoring around and getting fucked up.

Now this description of the plot makes it sound rather boring, but it’s really a brilliantly done film. It’s a brilliant little film, and a lot to evoke the feel of a western, from desolate landscapes, to shoot outs. There’s also plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. Until I saw this I would have said Inbetweeners was the funniest film I’d seen this year, now I’d find it hard to pick. They have very different styles, including the comedic style, but I found this no less funny, and think it’s actually the better film of the two.

So this review may be a little late for it to be of any use, but if you get a chance to see it you really should.