Calm with Horses
Release date: 2020-03-13
Votes: 152
Genres: Crime, Drama
In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.
Reviews
SWITCH.
'Calm with Horses' is definitely engrossing and heavy shit. There's some savage inner violence going on within the main character; the barbarity on the screen can't match the turmoil that's going on in his head. It's a strikingly accomplished portrait of a broken soul hauling himself back up from rock bottom. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-calm-with-horses-a-savage-and-sensitive-irish-crime-drama
CinemaSerf
Ned Dennehy is one of those character actors who never really owns a film but always make quite an impression - especially if his part requires a degree of menacing unpleasantness. Well here he delivers that in spades as we follow the life of his enforcer “Arm” (Cosmo Jarvis). He has been instructed to deal with a former family affiliate who has raped one of his “Devers” family. Thing is, though, “Arm” is a violent man - a former boxer who is no stranger to prison - but he isn’t a killer. Indeed, he is determined to try avoid carrying out his instructions as well as to patch things up with his ex-wife - if only because he wants to spend more time with his gradually alienated autistic son “Jack” (the scene stealing (Kiljan Moroney). Egged on constantly by his brutal and manipulative puppet-master “Dympna” (Barry Keoghan), the young man starts to feel even more conflicted and suffers the consequences as he realises that loyalty counts for nothing unless it delivers unconditionally to a family of unforgiving thugs. Jarvis is on great form here too, as is Keoghan showing us his mastery of the flighty yet odious son of a family all too used to getting their way. The violence isn’t especially graphic, it’s more implied - and that’s quite effective in this rather powerful look at how rural life in Ireland might unfold amidst an almost Dickensian social structure. Original? Well no, the story isn’t especially new or innovative but it’s the characterisation of the torn man with the muscle who must find a new sort of courage if his life is ever to improve that stands out. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s bleakness and grittiness helps create something at times touchingly authentic.
Movie Recommendation
Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art2020-04-16A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.More...
The Nightmare2015-07-01After a massive party one evening, 17-year-old Tina begins experiencing nightmares in which she is haunted by an unusual creature.More...
Eternal Beauty2020-08-21When Jane is rejected by life, she spirals into a chaotic, schizophrenic world where love and normality collide with humorous consequences.More...
Marquis1989-04-26On the eve of revolution, French activist and author Marquis and his talking penis, Colin, await judgment in the Bastille for allegedly plotting against the state. While Marquis dedicates himself to his art and Colin longs for action, the provocative pair unwittingly rouse the interest of competing ideological factions.More...
LOVERS2019-10-10The german performance artists Greta & Rodi are celebrating the last 24 Hours of their relationship. Planned as an act of gratitude & the last art project at the same time, things get out of control...More...
Clockers1995-09-15Strike is a young city drug pusher under the tutelage of drug lord Rodney Little. When a night manager at a fast-food restaurant is found with four bullets in his body, Strike’s older brother turns himself in as the killer. Detective Rocco Klein doesn’t buy the story, however, setting out to find the truth, and it seems that all the fingers point toward Strike & Rodney.More...
Gerry2002-09-20Two friends named Gerry become lost in the desert after taking a wrong turn. Their attempts to find their way home only lead them into further trouble.More...
Backtrack2015-07-25Troubled psychotherapist Peter Bowers is suffering from nightmares and eerie visions. When he uncovers a horrifying secret that all of his patients share, he is put on a course that takes him back to the small hometown he fled years ago. There he confronts his demons and unravels a mystery 20 years in the making.More...
The Nest2020-05-08Rory is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic '80s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family.More...
Like Father, Like Son2013-09-24Ryota Nonomiya is a successful businessman driven by money. He learns that his biological son was switched with another child after birth. He must make a life-changing decision and choose his true son or the boy he raised as his own.More...
The Night Comes for Us2018-10-05After sparing a girl's life during a massacre, an elite Triad assassin is targeted by an onslaught of murderous gangsters.More...
Parallel Mothers2021-10-08Two unmarried women who have become pregnant by accident and are about to give birth meet in a hospital room: Janis, in her late-thirties, unrepentant and happy; Ana, a teenager, remorseful and frightened.More...
American Animals2018-06-01Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.More...
Something's Gotta Give2003-12-12When perpetually single, aging music industry exec Harry Sanborn, and his latest trophy girlfriend, Marin, arrive at her mother's beach house in the Hamptons, they find that her mother, playwright Erica Barry, also plans to stay for the weekend. Erica is scandalized by the relationship and Harry's sexist ways. But when Harry has a heart attack while there, and the doctor prescribes bedrest, his only option is to stay at the Barry home. Left in the care of Erica and his doctor, a love triangle starts to take shape.More...
The Girl in the Fog2017-10-26A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl.More...
My Octopus Teacher2020-09-04After years of swimming every day in the freezing ocean at the tip of Africa, Craig Foster meets an unlikely teacher: a young octopus who displays remarkable curiosity. Visiting her den and tracking her movements for months on end he eventually wins the animal’s trust and they develop a never-before-seen bond between human and wild animal.More...
The Quick and the Dead1995-02-09A mysterious woman comes to compete in a quick-draw elimination tournament, in a town taken over by a notorious gunman.More...
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies2006-04-19Set in 1955, French secret agent Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath/OSS 117 is sent to Cairo to investigate the disappearance of his best friend and fellow spy Jack Jefferson, only to stumble into a web of international intrigue.More...
Amores Perros2000-06-16A fatalistic car crash in Mexico city sets off a chain of events in the lives of three people: a supermodel, a young man wanting to run off with his sister-in-law, and a homeless man. Their lives are catapulted into unforeseen situations instigated by the seemingly inconsequential destiny of a dog.More...
Going in Style2017-04-06Desperate to pay the bills and come through for their loved ones, three lifelong pals risk it all by embarking on a daring bid to knock off the very bank that absconded with their money.More...
Similar Movies
The Country Girls
1984-04-01The lifelong friendship of two rural Irish girls is put on the test when they grow up and leave for the big city, each with different life goals in mind.Ryan's Daughter
1970-03-19In the wake of the 1916 Easter Rising, a married schoolteacher in a small Irish village has an affair with a troubled British officer.Duch soudce Pauknera
1983-07-03There is no descriptionUzavřený okruh
1989-05-01A dramatic story about the devastation of the environment and human character.Boty plné vody
1976-12-17Three short stories ("Zelenáči 1945", "Silvestr 1948" and "Zimní vítr 1951") about members of the SNB units guarding the Šumava border in the post-war years. Ivo Toman had artistic supervision over the debutants. The theme of the third short story was made in 1959 for the film "Entry Forbidden" by František Vláčil, who was also starting at the time.Juana la Cubana
1994-04-15The beautiful nightclub singer/dancer Juana the Cuban moonlights as freedom fighter “Commander Zeta”, joining forces with the C.I.A. to overthrow the brutal regime of a military dictator (played by Erik Estrada) who plans to unleash bacteriological warfare on the U.S.A.Secret of the Cave
2006-09-01A young American boy spends his summer in Ireland and solves the mystery that captivates the entire village. Driven by curiosity and his own search for meaning in life, he faces his fears and discovers the Secret of the Cave.Six Shooter
2004-10-14Overwhelmed by grief following the death of his wife, Donnelly shares a train carriage home with a troubled young man identified only as the 'Kid'. As the Kid becomes more agitated and foul-mouthed, the journey takes on a violent and dangerous hue – for the bereaved Donnelly and for other hapless passengers on the train. Academy Award Winner: Best Live Action Short Film – 2005Akce Býčí oko
1976-07-24There is no descriptionDark Lies the Island
2019-02-27A long standing family feud rocks a small town that comes to a head when the Patriarch of the ruling family decides to upend the status quo. Married to a much younger woman who calls him Daddy, she loves his power but is still in love with her first love, Doggy who is Daddy’s estranged son! Doggy is a criminal running various shady businesses with his dimwit brother, Martin when a mysterious newcomer Richie arrives in town to shake things up. Now watch the fireworks start in this Fargo-esque delight!Zločin a pokánie
1982-01-01There is no descriptionThe Little Matchgirl
2006-09-07An animated short based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale about a poor young girl with a burning desire to find comfort and happiness in her life. Desperate to keep warm, the girl lights the matches she sells, and envisions a very different life for herself in the fiery flames filled with images of loving relatives, bountiful food, and a place to call home.Papaw Land
2021-11-04A troubled teenager spends the summer with his grandfather in the Ozarks, where he’s free from his mother, but not her painful past.The Catholics
1973-11-29Set in the near future. As a consequence of an ecumenical movement (Vatican Council IV), the Catholic Church has joined other religions and has eliminated much of the original dogma of Catholicism. A group of Irish monks rebel against this situation and react back to the past: they begin to say Mass in Latin and act according to traditional Catholic dogma. So, Rome decides to send a representative to investigate what is happeningJane Eyre
2011-03-11After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Mr. Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Mr. Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?War of the Buttons
1994-08-05War between two Irish youth gangs consists of removing and retrieving buttons from each other's clothing.The Story of Qiu Ju
1992-08-31When her husband is kicked in the groin by the village head, Qiu Ju, a peasant woman, despite her pregnancy, travels to a nearby town, and later a big city to deal with its bureaucrats and find justice.Strayed
2003-08-20Fleeing the June 1940 arrival of Hitler's army in Paris, a young war widow and her two children are rescued from dive-bombing German fighters by a cocky, reckless teenager. He finds them refuge in an abandoned house, but despite the fact that the family quickly comes to be depending much on his cunning and survival abilities, their cohabitation proves uneasy.Eureka
2001-01-20In rural Japan, the survivors of a tragedy converge and attempt to overcome their damaged selves, all while a serial killer is on the loose.Muž, ktorý vedel liet...
1966-01-01There is no description