Set deep in the heart of rural Ireland, Douglas ‘Arm’ Armstrong (Cosmo Jarvis) is a lapdog and personal nose-buster for The Devers, a notorious drug-dealing crime family. But he’s also a father to his autistic son Jack who lives with his ex-Ursula. With emotionally-charged loyalties lying both sides of the track, Calm With Horses delivers a tumultuously gripping story that is scenically breath-taking and captures the brutality and desperation of criminality and death.
Director Nick Rowland has certainly brought a strong contender to the stage. And is leading the charge with his first feature that explores a complex yet thoughtful storyline. Each strand full explores different character relationships and then interweaves them seamlessly as the film progresses.
The main plot follows Douglas and the youngest Dever, Dympna – who ropes him into his family’s bloody affairs and brutal endeavours, which reaches new extremities after a sexual assault within the family. With copious amounts of infighting, bad blood between rivals and mounting tensions – there is a noticeable amount of protection Dympna gives Douglas from his intense family and growing aggravation from Paudi Denver, the fearsome Uncle and head of the pack.
“The film does not shy away from notoriously graphic violence in the bloody war between gangs and families.”
The film does not shy away from notoriously graphic violence in the bloody war between gangs and families, that feels not unfamiliar to mafia style territory and embraces its grotesque nature. Scenes of confrontation are delivered in a very distinct and intent way; feeling oneself physically recoil from people choking up the blood that runs down the face, or the chair-gripping snap of a ligament.
The film intently accentuates the urgency of the gang; when one of them is wrong – immediate action or sacrifice is expected. There is almost a religious holier-than-thou hierarchy deep set within the different houses as family is guarded as a priority above all else.
Douglas embodies a multitude of complexities, which is what makes Jarvis’ performance so outstanding. With his skin laced in cuts from recent fights, the scars on his body also come from his past as a boxer; a part of himself he seldom opens up about that on the surface seems tentatively nostalgic but also carries an emotional guilty burden.
“Calm With Horses is a poignant, yet captivatingly intense story that demonstrates the best of Irish Cinema.”
He also becomes completely unravelled around Ursula (Niamh Altar), from this stoic watcher to a teasing teenage boy with a crush. There is still this burgeoning love between them as she tries to push past the chaos he’s becomes tangled in and bring him back to reality, so that he can have a life with her and Jack. Yet time and time again he finds himself slipping back into the path of trouble and chaos, which happens with a heavy heart but also to protect his family.
What lies deep beneath is Douglas’ craving to do the right thing by other people. Knowing he has a sense of purpose within the gang and the honour of being protected by them. But that does mean a level of disassociation with his family so they don’t become caught up in the violence.
Calm With Horses is a poignant, yet captivatingly intense story that demonstrates the best of Irish Cinema. Javis retains this stoic yet naive persona, and carries the storyline in a remarkable manner. The film is inherently violent, drastically brutal but executed in such innate and gripping detail, that will leave viewers shaken at the core.