Killer plot ramps up the tension as priest is given week’s notice of his murder in Calvary

CALVARY: An extraordinary conversation in the confessional kicks of a gripping drama that’s not so much a whodunit as a whosaidit.

Brendan Gleeson and Chris O'Dowd in a scene from film Calvary

THIS gripping Irish drama is not so much a whodunit as a whosaidit. So listen closely to the extraordinary conversation that constitutes the opening scene of Calvary.

If there are any clues to the ominous mystery at the heart of this film, this is the only place they can be found.

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Brendan Gleeson and Chris O'Dowd in a scene from <i>Calvary</i>.

In a small village on the west coast of Ireland, a Catholic priest is sitting inside a confessional at his church.

Brendan Gleeson’s character refuses to run from the threat to his life.

A parishioner enters. We cannot see who this man is. We can only hear his voice.

He informs Father James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) that he is not here to be absolved of his sins. Instead, he is here to give due warning of a sin he will soon commit.

In a week’s time, a Sunday the man says, he will meet Fr James down at the beach and kill him.

Would Fr James be so kind as to be there to get this matter over and done with?

Fr James says that he will.

End of conversation.

Phew. This is only the opening scene of Calvary, remember. What follows is a chronicle of the seven days leading up to the good Father’s date with fate.

And it must be said that Fr James is indeed a good man. He doesn’t deserve to die. Not like this. Not by the hand of one of his own flock.

That’s the other knockout twist in Calvary: Fr James appears to know the identity of his future assassin.

There is only a handful of adult men who live in the village. We will be meeting them all in the coming week.

In a small, close-knit community where everyone knows everyone else, it shouldn’t be that hard to identify the prime suspect, should it?

If only. Calvary cleverly covers all tracks leading towards the truth — and of course, that ever-looming day of reckoning on the beach — by locking viewers into the strange rhythm of life experienced in this part of the world.

Aidan Gillen, right, of <i>Game of Thrones </i>fame is a cynical doctor in<i> Calvary</i>.

While the film could almost past muster as a comedy, the tension of realising time is running out and Fr James (played with gruff grace and great gravity by Gleeson) will not be running away continues to build towards a near-unbearable level.

Calvary (MA15+)

Director: John Michael McDonagh (The Guard)

Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Dylan Moran, Aiden Gillen, Domhnall Gleeson

Verdict: Four stars. When a man can only hope. Or prey

Originally published as Killer plot ramps up the tension as priest is given week’s notice of his murder in Calvary