Calm with Horses movie review: Evil tension lurks behind rural idyll

A peaceful-sounding title masks a suspenseful thriller about a young ex-boxer who has joined a murderous gang.

A scene from Calm with Horses.

The peaceful-sounding title of this Irish production masks what is actually a suspenseful thriller about a young ex-boxer who has joined a murderous gang led by a couple of psychopaths. Douglas Armstrong, aka Arm (the excellent Cosmo Jarvis) is estranged from his wife, Ursula (Niamh Algar) and autistic son, Jack (Kiljan Tyr Moroney). Arm works for the Devers family whose criminal activities have made them a force to be feared in this rural part of Ireland, located inland from the west coast. Arm’s immediate boss is Hector Devers (David Wilmot), but the real power in the gang lies with the coldly malevolent Paudi Devers (Ned Dennehy), whose headquarters is in a dilapidated building located next to a pristine lake.

It’s not entirely clear what constitutes the criminal activities in which these dangerously unpredictable characters are involved, but they take themselves very seriously. The family members stick closely together; on social occasions the men sit on one side of the room snorting cocaine, drinking booze and plotting crimes, while the women sit together on a lounge opposite them. Dympna Devers (Barry Keoghan, who was so effective in The Killing of a Sacred Deer) is Arm’s friend and contemporary, but he is fanatically loyal to his father and uncle.

Arm’s difficulties really begin after the elderly Fannigan (Liam Carney), who had been staying at the Devers house, drunkenly wandered into the bedroom occupied by 13-year-old Charity. Certain that the old man molested the child, Paudi demands that he be punished and Arm is given the unpleasant assignment. Arm gives the old man a vicious beating but for Paudi a beating is not punishment enough: he wants Fannigan killed.

First-time feature film director Nick Rowland and his screenwriter Joseph Murtagh have made a very intense movie that benefits a great deal from its very specific setting: the picturesque, mist-shrouded hills and the lakes, which are evocatively photographed by Piers McGrail, may look like the Ireland of the travel books, but just below the surface violence and a callous disregard for the law and for human life are simmering.

On the level of a suspense thriller, Calm with Horses succeeds remarkably well, with a layer of grim humour to leaven the tension (one gang member talks about escaping across the border into Mexico until it’s pointed out to him that he’s been seeing too many American movies and that Cork would be a more sensible destination).

In contrast to the macho scenes in which Arm finds himself uneasily negotiating with the Devers family are the scenes he shares with Ursula and Jack. “Everyone deserves better,” says Ursula at one point, but for Arm the possibility of disassociating himself from the gang is remote and the threat of violence if he attempts such a thing is enough to deter him. The film takes its title from one of the few “calm” moments, a scene in which Jack and Arm take turns riding a horse, an experience that brings a moment of peace to both of them.

Calm with Horses, which was made by actor Michael Fassbender’s production company, is a small film but a quietly accomplished one. A warning, though: some may find the material disquieting. It’s a sign of the film’s achievement that it succeeds in fraying the nerves as successfully as it does.

Rating: ★★★★