Last year, Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve released Enemy, which is an elusive and polarizing piece of cinema but believe it or not, it is not his most elusive film. Yes, the same filmmaker who gave us the final shot of Enemy, actually had a film that was more disorienting: That film was Maelstrom (2000). While …
Director John Michael McDonagh wastes no time in establishing the stakes of Calvary. In a darkened confessional, Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) is told that he is going to die in a week. The man planning to kill the priest explains it is exactly because Father Lavelle has done nothing wrong that he is going to die. Of the two McDonagh brothers, John Michael is known for his irreverent comedy The Guard, but with this latest release he joins the ranks of the most fatalistic of Irish artists.