The buddy-cop movie was something of a cinema staple in the late 1970’s and 1980’s. Two men, usually polar opposites at the beginning, are teamed together to take on some sort of evil crime lord or whatever. Sometimes it would be two cops, one straight laced and the other unconventional, or the cops will team with convicts or federal agents, and by the end they are friends and become better people for their experiences and so on and so forth. What makes the buddy-cop formula work is always the writing and on screen chemistry of the leads – this is what makes the difference between a great movie like Hot Fuzz and an awful piece of dreck like Cop Out.
Fortunately The Guard is more like the former, as it is loaded with witty writing often delivered in a thick Irish brogue, demanding the attention of the viewer and almost daring them to keep up at times. The film starts with a murder in a small Irish town, which interrupts the easy-going life of Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson, Green Zone, Gangs of New York), a “play it by his own rules” kind of cop. He may be upholding the law when he is in uniform, but he’s not above cavorting with prostitutes and IRA arms dealers. He’s racist, quick to mouth off, drinks on the job, and even dabbles in the occasional drug or two. So he’s not your model cop, he’s what you would call one of those loose cannon types.
This is where FBI Agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle, Iron Man 2) comes in, as he finds himself in Ireland investigating a drug smuggling operation, which may or may not be connected with the aforementioned murder mystery. Everett is extremely proper and by the book, and he finds Sergeant Boyle both off-putting and likely mentally challenged. So of course they team up and become partners and sort of friends, and Cheadle’s chemistry with Gleeson is great and really makes the movie fun to watch.
The story itself is pretty good, too. Sure the basic premise is obvious and unoriginal, but the Irish countryside setting makes it feel fresh, and the story manages to take a few turns here and there that are fun surprises while still feeling organic and natural to the story. And Gleeson owns his roles and makes the movie his bitch, as he gave a performance that was more nuanced and complex than it could have been in the hands of a lesser actor. He’s very funny and grizzled and fun to watch, and despite his bluster and occasional narrow-minded behavior, he winds up being pretty easy to root on as the story’s hero.
The Guard is a great movie, sharply written and well thought out and contributing enough to this age-old formula to make something interesting out of it. The style is fresh, with just a hint of the western genre coming from the lonely lawman in a lawless town type of vibe that catches on eventually in the story, and the balance of dark humor and action is well done. Definitely one of the better movies of 2011.
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