Material Intelligence: Meet the emerging designers from Ireland’s leading fashion colleges
Material Intelligence: Meet the emerging designers from Ireland’s leading fashion colleges

Ruth O'Connor

A red carpet first-timer brings us behind the scenes at Cannes Film Festival
A red carpet first-timer brings us behind the scenes at Cannes Film Festival

Kara O'Sullivan

Garden designer Peter Dowdall on the best places to find unique pieces for your garden
Garden designer Peter Dowdall on the best places to find unique pieces for your garden

Megan Burns

Key trends and challenges shaping the job market in 2025
Key trends and challenges shaping the job market in 2025

Leonie Corcoran

Inside this five-bedroom Edwardian Terenure home
Inside this five-bedroom Edwardian Terenure home

IMAGE

In The Meadows 2025 review: A festival for the fans
In The Meadows 2025 review: A festival for the fans

Sarah Gill

Sole Steps: Join us for a run and a coffee in Phoenix Park
Sole Steps: Join us for a run and a coffee in Phoenix Park

Edaein OConnell

We’re taking notes on the rich, tactile details of this Belfast café for our own homes
We’re taking notes on the rich, tactile details of this Belfast café for our own...

Megan Burns

Cathy White talks honestly about taking to the road as a new mum, without her baby
Cathy White talks honestly about taking to the road as a new mum, without her...

Fiona Alston

‘Grief was like being knocked down by a speeding bus. It came out of nowhere and completely floored me’
‘Grief was like being knocked down by a speeding bus. It came out of nowhere...

Mary Ann Kenny

Image / Living / Culture

Five of the best Brendan Gleeson films to watch this weekend


By Sarah Gill
10th Mar 2023

SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES/20TH CENTURY STUDIOS.

Five of the best Brendan Gleeson films to watch this weekend

Up for an Oscar this weekend, we're digging into Brendan Gleeson's repertoire of films for some viewing inspiration.

Brendan Gleeson, like his co-stars Colin Farrell, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, has been enjoying renewed success as of late thanks to Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. A black comedy-drama written and directed by McDonagh, the film has been lauded by critics and audiences the world over – and has already had racked up quite an impressive number of awards so far this season.

If you haven’t seen Gleeson’s latest project, best start with that. Then follow that up with the four others on our list which you can peruse below…

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Released in Irish cinemas nationwide last October, the film was later added to Disney+ where it’s now available to watch from the comfort of your own home. Already generating much excitement and a 13-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival premiere, this dark comedy-drama follows two lifelong friends as they find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

Calvary (2014)

Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, Calvary boasts an incredibly impressive Irish cast that includes Brendan Gleeson, Chris O’Dowd, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran and Brendan’s son, Domhnall Gleeson. The film revolves around a good-natured priest who wrestles with a cynical, spiteful community after he receives a death threat from an unknown parishioner in a confessional booth.

The Guard (2011)

Also written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, The Guard saw Brendan Gleeson receive a well-deserved Golden Globe Award nomination and is one of the most successful independent Irish films of all time in terms of Irish box-office receipts. Gleeson plays the role of Sergeant Gerry Boyle, an irreverent and unorthodox officer of an Garda Síochána who’s partnered up with a straight-laced, no-nonsense FBI agent to investigate an international drug-smuggling ring.

In Bruges (2008)

A black comedy crime film that first brought the Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Martin McDonagh trio together, you’ve more than likely seen In Bruges more than once already, but it’s always worth a rewatch. If you haven’t seen it, the film revolves around a pair of hitmen as they await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Who put Harry’s name in the goblet of fire? The fourth movie in the Harry Potter series, Goblet of Fire sees Brendan Gleeson take on the role of Mad-Eye Moody, who becomes the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. And he is truly brilliant as the weird and wonderful Mr Moody.