Despite such a peaceful title, “Calm with Horses” is actually a very melancholic Irish crime drama film.
When it was introduced to the United States, in order to cater to the tastes of local audiences, the title was changed to “Shadow of Violence”, and a new action movie style poster that looked very passionate was created.
Sure enough, most of the audiences who were looking forward to the gorgeous action scenes returned in anguish.
The film begins with the protagonist “Arm” with a strong Irish country accent monologue, which brings the audience into this country known for being brave and fierce: “They said, I have been very violent since I was a child… Don’t think all violence is bad. Sometimes it’s just a person’s way of understanding the world.”
Arm is tall and strong, taciturn, his eyes are not fierce, but sensitive and clumsy.
He used to be a boxer. After retiring, he was invited by a small gang and became a gangster.
As he said, he didn’t have hatred in his heart, but he really didn’t know what he could do besides fighting.
At the beginning of the film, he followed a small instruction to another gang member.
Arm’s childhood and employer are called Dymphna, and his Daves family is engaged in drug crimes.
The first and second figures in the family are the two uncles of Dymphna, Paudi and Hector, respectively, especially the former, who are known for their ferocity.
Dymphna was eager to prove his ability to the two uncles, so they inevitably led him by the nose.
Although Paudi calls Arm a brother, he is very caring on the surface, but the line between “friendship” and “utilization” seems rather blurred.
Despite fierce shots at work, Arm is usually very gentle in life.
He and his ex-girlfriend Ursula have a son named Jack.
Jack is born with autism and has never learned to speak. He only feels happy when riding a horse (the film title “Calm with Horses” comes from this).
Ursula wants to take Jack to a special school in another place, but this requires a lot of money.
Arm tried his best to be nice to both mother and son, but he was too clumsy, and the harder he tried, the worse things got worse.
Because of his kind thoughts, Arm couldn’t kill the target designated by the gang, and planted the bane.
Soon, when things came to light, the gang boss Paudi was furious and ordered Dymphna to shoot Arm.
How to escape the gang and protect your beloved?
At this point, the initiative in Arm’s hands is probably getting less and less…
Although “Calm with Horses” is the first feature film of rookie director Nick Rowland, it is already perfect in portraying the characters and background.
The superb acting skills of several protagonists, coupled with the coldness of the Irish coastline, seem to constitute a gloomy criminal fairy tale.
The weakness of “Calm with Horses” lies in the story line. After the contradiction reaches its climax, it ends in a gentle and unnatural way, wasting the previously constructed tension in vain.
Nevertheless, such an exquisite crime drama movie is still very worth watching.
