MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Calvary’

By John Mulderig
Valley Catholic
September 09, 2014

http://www.valleycatholiconline.com/viewnews.php?newsid=5274&id=16

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Set in rural Ireland, the bleak but powerful serio-comedy “Calvary” (Fox Searchlight) kicks off with a startling premise. In the confessional, a grown victim of childhood sex abuse by a priest tells Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson), the dedicated pastor of a County Sligo parish, that in a week’s time he intends to avenge himself by killing the innocent clergyman.
With the perpetrator of the crimes against him dead, and despairing of being healed by therapy, the victim reasons that to take the life of a cleric would draw people’s attention.
As writer-director John Michael McDonagh chronicles the seven days that follow Father James’ life-threatening encounter, we learn that this thoroughly decent but otherwise ordinary man of the cloth is a widower and father ordained after his wife’s death.
He deals with his emotionally fragile daughter (Kelly Reilly) and with the variety of errant or merely eccentric souls who make up his small flock (including Chris O’Dowd, Orla O’Rourke, Dylan Moran, Aiden Gillen and M. Emmet Walsh), all the while wavering about how to respond to the threat on his life.
Gleeson gives a memorable performance as a thoroughly decent but ordinary man confronted by the ultimate challenge, and McDonagh ably explores themes of faith, moral failure, reconciliation and sacrifice.
Unsparing, yet mostly respectful in its treatment of the contemporary Church, the film is nonetheless a demanding experience with a narrow appropriate audience. Brief but extremely gory violence, drug use, mature themes, including clergy sexual abuse, homosexual prostitution and suicide, a few uses of profanity, much rough and crude language.
The Catholic News Service classification is L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is R -- restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.