Calvary

Ireland    Brendan Gleeson

In the opening scene a man tells a priest he will kill him in a week because of abuse he suffered as a child from a predatory priest.

We follow the priest during his day-to-day rounds of parishioners and witness the lowly status his class has sunk to in Ireland. Most treat him and the institution he represents with contempt, openly scorning his beliefs, practices. This particular priest is a good man but is made to suffer for all the myriad sins committed by his colleagues.

Unusually sophisticated treatment of contemporary clerical life. A long way from Bells of Saint Marys. Gleeson shone here. His aura of inner calm carried the film past all the angry histrionics spewed by the other characters. He seemed to genuinely care about people and their suffering but they couldn't get past his collar. Unexpected, well done.

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