Calm with Horses

Painful -not as in painful to watch, but in every other sense. This is a film of hurt. Destructive upbringings, hurt emotions, painful beatings, dysfunctional lives. A disturbing film. As someone else said, in the same league as Dead Man's Shoes. There's redemption here too, though. Well worth a watch.

This film really comes together. It has a heartfelt message at it's core which I understood and felt, but it also has some excitement in it, which seems to be more rare in Irish dramas that I have been watching lately. The actors are very strong. Love that Irish actor Barry. Very interesting to watch him on screen. Enjoyable film. Good story.

... of crime and retribution in a small, provincial, Irish town. The misguided, misled and educationally challenged enforcer for the local drug dealing family takes a decision that may well jeopardise the relationship he desires with his autistic son, at the same time his ex partner is doing the same. A top performance from Cosmo Jarvis as the family's muscle; I was reminded of his equally brilliant performance in Lady Macbeth.

First off the performance of Cosmo Jarvis is the stand out in this movie. He has a feel of Tom Hardy about him and I'd tip him for big things in the future.

I was a bit worried going in that there might be a language barrier as the Irish accent can get a bit thick but it wasn't a problem for me.

The story is pretty standard, a crime family taking retribution on a local miscreant but transplanting it from the streets of New York or LA to rural Ireland gives the movie a wild west feel. My only criticism is the ending is a little predictable, in fact all but inevitable. I would have liked to have had my expectations subverted in that respect.

Great Irish film making, intense, emotional, and gritty!