A sneakily funny performance from Brendan Gleeson anchors The Guard, an Irish crime comedy in which Gleeson plays a policeman in a small village who butts heads with a visiting FBI agent (Don Cheadle) when drug smugglers start making waves in the area. The odd couple aspect doesn’t entirely click – Cheadle is sort of a fish out of water as a fish out of water – but Gleeson and writer-director John Michael McDonagh are in lock step in characterizing the decidedly unorthodox Gerry Boyle. Boyle is a police guard who pockets the LSD from a DUI victim, openly consorts with prostitutes and drinks on the job – yet when push comes to shove, he’s also the only member of local law enforcement who can’t be bribed. Like Cheadle’s agent, we’re never quite sure if Boyle is a country bumpkin or playing dumb. It’s a delight watching Gleeson walk that line.
