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Calvary

R Released Aug 1, 2014 1h 45m Drama Comedy List
89% Tomatometer 172 Reviews 80% Audience Score 10,000+ Ratings
An honest and good-hearted priest (Brendan Gleeson) wrestles with a cynical, spiteful community after he receives a death threat from an unknown parishioner. Read More Read Less
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Calvary

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Critics Consensus

Led by a brilliant performance from Brendan Gleeson, Calvary tackles weighty issues with humor, intelligence, and sensitivity.

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Critics Reviews

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Kate Muir Times (UK) It's Gleeson who gives the performance of a lifetime as the priest. Dec 31, 2017 Full Review Anthony Lane New Yorker The tension of Calvary is fitful at best, and much of the movie trips into silliness, but in Brendan Gleeson -- in his proud bearing and his lamenting gaze -- we see the plight of the lonely believer in a world beyond belief. Sep 22, 2014 Full Review Tom Long Detroit News Brendan Gleeson delivers a typically towering yet warm performance in "Calvary." Too bad the movie's something of a mess. Rated: C Aug 15, 2014 Full Review Brendan Cassidy InSession Film A challenging film, but absolutely worth your time. Jun 17, 2024 Full Review Keith Garlington Keith & the Movies Gleeson, the veritable linchpin of this layered but slyly simple character study. The man strikes every note with an unmistakable honesty that comes through in each thoughtful response, in each perplexed expression, and each tired and weary sigh. Rated: 4.5/5 Aug 19, 2022 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review Through his sophisticated dialogue and Larry Smith’s simple-but-gorgeous compositions, McDonagh’s treatment of the wise and world-weary Lavelle contains equal measures of sacrificial responsibility and an almost suicidal embrace of The End. Rated: 3.5/4 Jul 29, 2022 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (827) audience reviews
Meghan M Loved it unto the very end. I hate a movie that doesn't get tone right. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/18/24 Full Review Chris H There just isn't enough to this. Brendan Gleeson is, of course, excellent but the other characters are underdeveloped and melt into the background. Maybe it would have been better as a TV series? Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/12/24 Full Review Alec B It's sadder and more measured than I anticipated. Once you realize that the "murder mystery in a town of weirdos" plot is just an excuse to examine the difficulty and necessity of simple decency in a indifferent world the film becomes more moving. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/13/23 Full Review L. N As an Irish person, this film makes me cringe. The calibre of the cast cannot be denied, but the tone of the film is curdled by its attempts to be profound. The scenes with Aiden Gillen's character attempting to be scathingly insightful with regard to the church's past is painful (and that accent he is doing and the way he is speaking....what the fuck???? It seems his point of view is supposed to carry intellectual weight, but is delivered so badly, so ludicrously that he is like a weaselly, snide Disney character). It is an early taste of the adolescent, self-congratulatory reasoning we have had to become familiar with in the last decade. The film sets out to be wise and thoughtful and cuts itself down with silly overwrought dialogue. Thank God the Banshees of Inisherin came along to pull things back on track. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 12/08/23 Full Review Logan D Loved the cast of eccentric characters and Gleeson carries the film with a quiet gruffness that befits him as an actor. There's lots of underlying tension not only with the obvious overarching threat to the priest's life but in his relationships with his parishioners and his estranged daughter. Very sophisticated and philosophical. Gleeson's character is one of the most complex I've ever viewed. Highly recommended. Coincidentally viewed this in a sequence of 4 films involving pedophilia as a theme. The others were Big Bad Wolves, Spotlight, and Hard Candy Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 10/02/23 Full Review S R Sad, messed up and depressing. Well made, but not for the faint of heart. It was on HBO. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 09/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
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Movie Info

Synopsis An honest and good-hearted priest (Brendan Gleeson) wrestles with a cynical, spiteful community after he receives a death threat from an unknown parishioner.
Director
John Michael McDonagh
Producer
Chris Clark, Flora Fernandez-Marengo, James Flynn
Screenwriter
John Michael McDonagh
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Production Co
Reprisal Films, Irish Film Board, Octagon Films, Lipsync Productions
Rating
R (Language|Brief Strong Violence|Sexual References|Some Drug Use)
Genre
Drama, Comedy
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 1, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 1, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.6M
Runtime
1h 45m
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