Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After being threatened during a confession, a good-natured priest must battle the dark forces closing in around him.
Calvary is a remarkably singular Irish drama — John Michael McDonagh's razor-sharp script blends mordant wit, theological weight, and genuine menace in a way almost no other film manages. Brendan Gleeson delivers one of the decade's great performances, anchoring an exceptional ensemble. The Sligo coastline is photographed with austere beauty that perfectly mirrors the moral landscape. The film's conceit — a good priest targeted precisely because of his goodness — is strikingly original and executed with real conviction. The ending, while thematically coherent and earned, is perhaps the least surprising element given the film's carefully telegraphed trajectory, landing with gravity but not quite the ambiguity or shock it reaches for.