It’s one of those cases where a person’s facial features seem to embody the geography of their homeland. Though he couldn’t look more Irish even if he dressed as a green-painted elf, this has never been a limitation for him. On the contrary, his mix of a disenchanted and contemptuous gaze, one that leaves you unsure whether he’s about to bid you farewell or send you to hell, has made each of his performances unforgettable, with no two ever the same. On closer inspection, it appears that he has a face that’s naturally ‘in character’. It’s no coincidence that many of the films he’s been in place him across a wide range of distant eras, from the Crusades to the Irish riots of the 1920s, from hunting the white whale to the Five Points made famous by Scorsese, each time in different attire. This might be due to the fact that his facial expressions aren’t bound by the typical temporal markers that some actors carry (raise your hand if you didn’t laugh seeing George Clooney as an ancient Roman or Colin Farrell as Alexander the Great!). As a result, he stands out as a remarkably versatile performer.
It is the roles like his, the imposing figures, and the lion’s mane that place him among the performers who are never fully appreciated. Without them standing just behind the protagonist, many scenes and narratives would lose their impact. This year, he’s at the Venice Film Festival with Todd Phillips’ latest work: brace yourself!
Two years after killing Murray Franklin on live television and riding the wave of a city in full-blown civil war, Arthur Fleck is confined to the Arkham Asylum for the Criminally Insane, still consumed by his delusions. There, he meets the love of his life, Harleen Frances Qui...
In Scorsese’s splendid milieu, America is depicted as being born out of blood and revenge. As is often the case, the problem is that there is always someone who has been a native long before you arrived.
An ending that remains best left unsaid, even after twenty years: a dream emerges from a family tragedy, but sooner or later, the dream turns into a nightmare. Just like life itself, curiosity knows no bounds.
Only a full-blooded Irish face could embody one of the CIA agents (Gleeson), and with the soldier also being Irish (Matt Damon), things can only go wrong.
A wonderful reinterpretation of the Moby Dick story, featuring the young Melville as the protagonist and Gleeson as his counterpart, the survivor. Their magnificent face-off takes place in the dim candlelight.
Is it real life being narrated, or are the island’s characters themselves the spirits? Something breaks between two friends, while the distant echoes of civil war loom. Brendan Gleeson on violin.
