Calvary

Set in a small village on the windswept coastline of Ireland, this subtly provocative thriller begins when good-hearted cleric Father James (Brendan Gleeson) is threatened in the confessional booth. A bitter parishioner—sexually abused years ago by a pedophile priest who has since died—is determined to wreak revenge by murdering the man of the cloth in exactly seven days, telling him: “I'm going to kill you because you've done nothing wrong.” Over the next week, weary Father James wrestles not only with the concept of his own mortality but also the declining influence of the Catholic Church in contemporary society, as he confronts various members of the rural community, gruffly making amends and meeting with disparate suspects, including a sinister atheistic doctor (Aidan Gillen), a rich despairing businessman (Dylan Moran), and a vulgar butcher (Chris O'Dowd), whose promiscuous wife (Orla O'Rourke) is having an affair with an immigrant auto mechanic (Isaach de Bankolé). Father James advises a jailed serial rapist/killer (Domhnall Gleeson, Brendan's real-life son) and is scorned by a policeman (Gary Lydon) and male prostitute (Owen Sharpe). It seems that his only benign acquaintances are an elderly American author (M. Emmet Walsh) and a philosophical French widow (Marie-Josée Croze). A widower before he became a priest, Father James also tries to counsel his confused, suicidal daughter (Kelly Reilly), who views his joining the priesthood as abandonment. Gleeson's fine performance propels this elliptical, ticking-clock psychodrama from writer-director John Michael McDonagh. An intense and compassionate cerebral thriller revolving around the complicated concept of forgiveness, this is recommended. [Note: Blu-ray/DVD combo extras include a behind-the-scenes featurette (21 min.), the production featurettes “A Matter of Faith” (5 min.), “The Role of a Good Priest” (4 min.), and “A Father and His Daughter” (4 min.), a stills gallery, and a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a powerful film.] (S. Granger)