159. Calm With Horses; movie review

CALM WITH HORSES
Cert 15
100 mins
BBFC advice: Contains very strong language, strong violence, threat, injury detail, drug misuse

"Some people look at life through a different lens and have a different moral code," agreed Mrs W and I after watching Calm With Horses.
Certainly, Douglas (Cosmo Jarvis) and Dympna (Barry Keoghan) are two characters we would cross the street to avoid.
If that sounds uncharitable, these are young men who turn to violence as a first resort. Just being in the same pub with them is a risk to life or limb.
But they are not at the top of the criminal food chain. As Nick Rowland's film shows - there is always someone who is more intimidating or unhinged.
Douglas would appear to be on the autistic spectrum or at least have some type of personality disorder.
He turns to aggression as a way out of his problems or when instructed by Dympna who he believes is his best pal.
They belong to a community which defends each other to the death but comes down hard on anyone who steps out of line.
Liam Carney plays an uncle who is rumoured to have molested a teenager and so has to pay the price and Douglas is selected for retribution.
Meanwhile, he has other pressing issues with an autistic son to an estranged girlfriend (Niamh Algar).
Many of the choices made by Douglas will stir audiences to want to scream at the screen. They will seem incomprehensible to right-minded people.
But, surprisingly, by Calm With Horses' conclusion, we had begun to comprehend his actions more than we expected. Indeed, dare I say, we begin to feel sorry for him.
This demonstrates both the skill of Rowland and Jarvis in gently peeling back the layers of a character who initially seems to be one-dimensional.
Indeed, the development of such unlikely empathy is key to us believing Calm With Horses was a winner.

Reasons to watch: Gritty and compelling
Reasons to avoid: Sometimes the Irish accent is hard to follow

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Yes
Nudity: Yes
Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? At least 26 people have died in feuds between rival gangs in Ireland during the last five years with hundreds injured and maimed. Between September 2015 and December 2018, one feud alone claimed 18 lives.

The final word. Barry Keoghan: “Like every actor, I want to express my pain, so I think these shady characters help. I want to hide behind a mask and these have more of a mask than your 2D characters, your happy-go-lucky characters. I want to play someone with a bit more of an edge; someone who challenges people and that doesn’t have it all easy.” Independent

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