Sucks to be an Irish priest in John Michael McDonagh’s movie Calvary

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

John Michael McDonagh, writer/director of BAFTA-nominated movie THE GUARD (Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle) and brother of IN BRUGES writer/director Martin McDonagh, is back at work already with another blackly comic movie called CALVARY. Having read or seen all of the plays and movies written by both McDonaughs I can safely say that they know no other kind of comic movie. Not that I’m complaining, as their writing is uniformly cutting, hilarious, and unapologetic.

Now lest you think I’ve gone and misspelled the word “cavalry,” according to what I learned in my research today “Calvary” is another name for Golgotha, aka the site outside Jerusalem on which Jesus was crucified. Which seems to fit rather well indeed, as the plot of McDonagh’s movie concerns “a good priest tormented by his community.”

The movie will begin production at the end of the summer with a cast that includes Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd (BRIDESMAIDS), Kelly Reilly (SHERLOCK HOLMES), and Aidan Gillen (“Game of Thrones”).