 |
| Sgt. Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) is an unconventional cop, in "The Guard". |
“The Guard” opens with an almost-literal bang, the words “fuckin’ posers” blaring on the soundtrack, as a group of young ruffians—chivalrous-less chavs—speed down a country road. The camera sweeps across the vast, green countryside, as the boys’ red coupe drifts between the lanes on the weaving tarmac—a strip of black cutting through the lush landscape of West Ireland. The speeders whiz past a white-and-yellow Ford, a cop car, but the camera stops on the officer, the Garda, or Irish policeman, inside. His face emotionless, in a daze, we hear the speeders horrific crash off screen and he guard’s stone face turns to a grimace, as he rolls his eyes in disgust. The guard leaves his roadside post to inspect the accident. It’s a horrific scene. The red car now mangled, upside down, bodies—the car’s recent occupants—strewn everywhere. He looks inside the ruined vehicle, then turns back to the first body on the road and starts rummaging through the corpse’s jacket pockets. He finds a baggy, shakes it, opens it, examines one of the tablets for a moment, cocks his head and then, satisfied, places the tab on his tongue. The screen flashes for a brief flicker of a frame with a smiley face, an editing flourish that establishes one thing: the guard just dropped acid. He walks a short distance away from the crash, turns his gaze towards the oppressive gray sky and utters the words, “what a beautiful fuckin’ day”.
