A dark comedy from the heart of Ireland

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The 2008 black comedy, “In Bruges” was one of the most original films of the last few years. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson starred as two hitmen waiting in Belgium after a job gone wrong. But writer-director Martin McDonagh is also a playwright, so we haven’t been graced with another film from him yet. There’s good news, though: John Michael McDonagh has now made his first feature, and he’s just as talented as his brother. “The Guard” also stars Brendan Gleeson, this time on the other side of the law. He’s Sergeant Gerry Boyle, a policeman in a small town near Galway, in west Ireland. To his superior in the city, he’s a complete idiot. But the savvy viewer will realize he’s just taking the mickey and enjoying taking advantage of those who underestimate him. That’s on full parade when he and the other area cops attend a briefing given by FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle). Everett explains that drug smugglers are working in the area; Boyle reveals one of them was murdered in his district. It looks like the makings of a typical mismatched cop team movie. But this film is, as “In Bruges,” like no other.

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