User reviews

Cosmo Jarvis take a bow. Playing lead character Douglas (The Arm) he hits every note. His portrayal of a former boxer struggling to break free from the brutality of his past and present life is both captivating and heart wrenching. Set in rural Ireland, Douglas is used by local crime family the Devers as their enforcer, and while the punishment he dishes out to those unfortunate enough to have crossed them is savage, he is the real victim. Jarvis captures superbly the tortured soul of the main protagonist with a brooding and sensitive performance that deserves huge praise. Superb supporting roles from the brilliant Niamh Algar as his former wife trying to make a life for their autistic son and Barry Keoghan as his manipulative wannabe drug king pin. Throw in Ned Dennehy's performance as Paudie, a wretched local crime lord descending into madness, and the ensemble in complete. Cinematography is bleak and beautiful and the music is so in tune with the narrative that you forget it's there.

A great piece of gritty Irish cinema and my only gripe is that I feel there was room for another 20 minutes or so.

First off the performance of Cosmo Jarvis is the stand out in this movie. He has a feel of Tom Hardy about him and I'd tip him for big things in the future.

I was a bit worried going in that there might be a language barrier as the Irish accent can get a bit thick but it wasn't a problem for me.

The story is pretty standard, a crime family taking retribution on a local miscreant but transplanting it from the streets of New York or LA to rural Ireland gives the movie a wild west feel. My only criticism is the ending is a little predictable, in fact all but inevitable. I would have liked to have had my expectations subverted in that respect.

... of crime and retribution in a small, provincial, Irish town. The misguided, misled and educationally challenged enforcer for the local drug dealing family takes a decision that may well jeopardise the relationship he desires with his autistic son, at the same time his ex partner is doing the same. A top performance from Cosmo Jarvis as the family's muscle; I was reminded of his equally brilliant performance in Lady Macbeth.

This was an intense and well-made crime drama with excellent performances. Barry Keoghan delivers as do the actors who play the diabolical uncles. There are a few spots that unnecessarily slow down the pacing, but overall this is relatively taut and impressive for a lower-budget indie. Nick Rowland's direction was spot on. This film is well worth taking a ride on.

Great Irish film making, intense, emotional, and gritty!

This is a must watch for anyone. It has everything, it triggers every emotion. It is a brilliant observation of small time gangsters. This is in the same league as Shane Meadows "Dead Mans Shoes". Stunning cinematography, outstanding acting by the whole cast. And a simple tale of morality, loyalty and trying to do the right thing. How is is the latest Liam Neeson film can be #1 in the box office this week when a film like this deserves a huge audience.

Been a blessing because it kinda puts you off hearing the heavy Irish accents you have to really concentrate when listening at times it doesn't even sound like their speaking English. But once you get a handle on their cadence and comprehend Ireland's pronunciation the dialogue is pretty well written. The whole film is shot beautifully and the acting was superb a melancholy vibe persisted from start to finish. Not really disturbing or ominous but as you watch the anticipation builds tremendously because you know something tragic is bound to happen it gives you that feeling at any moment you'll see it explode. Oddly enough with everything in place the story sparks but never blowups. Not that nothing happens it does run it's course but it could of been so much more powerful at the end. I did enjoy watching and the score was phenomenal an early 90's late 80's vibe and sound. The film had a great msg. which means a lot so I would definitely recommend this film to checkout.

Really good story and the acting was great. Not so much a gangster flick, but there are definitely some violent moments. I couldn't help but feel for Arm.

Really enjoyed this. Very well written and shot and to be honest, I don't understand the negative reviews. Well worth a watch.

So hopelessly cliched and formulaic. Certainly a pastiche of so many British/Irish gang films. Cosmo Jarvis was alright, Barry Keoghan is definitely better suited to the weirdness of The Killing of a Sacred Deer. I found him not threatening at all. The young actor who played Jack was excellent.

In my opinion, Bullhead already did this and better. High-grade acting is devoted and cinematography is slick & moody, but the story starts as cliched and ends as pointless. The solitary villain appeared much less dangerous than the protagonist, so I didn't get any sense of threat and failed to recognise any kind of meaningful arch. The main character's actions didn't seem to affect the plot at all. Perhaps it was meant to be the whole point? It's competently made, but I'm giving it "four out of ten" rating because it's just a shame - with the resources and talent available, even slightly more reasonable and meaningful narrative would have resulted in a really good film.

A heart wrenching film filled with gripping performances of the highest calibre/ Everyone in this movie is fantastic. Niamh Algar and Cosmo Jarvis steal the show with heart stopping performances in an accomplished feature debut from director Nick Rowland. But even the smaller parts are realised with a sophisticated level of performance. The five year old boy is terrific and there's a party scene where a young lad with just a few lines (talking about doing a runner to Mexico), turns in such a stellar performance he's worthy of a lead asap. The script feels like such a fresh and emotional take on a gangster movie set within a unique and fascinating community. This is a stunning piece of work from start to finish, superbly cast and worthy of every award going.

Also known as The Shadow of Violence in other territories, this gritty Irish crime drama that is produced by Michael Fassbender under his DMC production banner is a solid entry into a crowded sub-genre of UK/Irish films of this ilk, films that refuse to back away from the bleakness that lay at the core of their beings.

From the moment we hear the gruff voice over of singer/actor Cosmo Jarvis's "Arm" talk about his violent nature and his way of life working for Barry Keoghan's Dympna (sporting one of cinemas worst recent haircuts) and his family the Devers, Horses becomes the exact type of film we expect it to be and never once truly tries too become anything but what is to be expected, but that doesn't mean Nick Rowland's debut is without merit.

Firstly giving Cosmo Jarvis his most notable film role yet, a performance that requires significant restraint but also at times built up emotion being unleashed, the film also gives us another solid Keoghan turn in what's a new addition of creepy performing from the impressive actor with the two leads front and centre through most of Horses gritty affair that sees Arm wrestling with a murderous request from the Denvers relating to a family friend that has done wrong by them.

The film tries to add extra bite with the side plot of Arm and his relationship with Niamh Algar's Ursela, who is the mother to Arm's troubled young son Jack but much like the central plot device of the film this whole component of the film fails to surprise or add much of value to the film, even if Jarvis and Algar share a strong on screen chemistry.

There are times that you are willing the tale of Arm to take us to places we didn't expect, give us something that will land a knock out blow to our expectations but those moments never come meaning that while the tale of Arm and his trials will engage us to a certain extent, Horses never does enough to make it stand out from the pack, a pack that features a number of extremely similar tales that managed to create something unique around their more generic foundation.

Final Say -

A solid Irish-tinged crime drama with some nice central performances, Calm with Horses is the very definition of solid without being at all remarkable, as the familiar tale of criminals with good hearts takes us on a journey that fails to surprise.

3 carnivals out of 5

Calm With Horses sets itself from its unflinchlny violent opening. Very much an wannabe On The (Irish) Waterfront.

The film is a decent effort, but extremely violent and bleak, and a hard watch indeed.

I can see why Game of Thrones was shot in Ireland: the sheer variety of vistas and environments presents an ideal filming setting, and for nearly all types of production.

Who else would be better to explore this but a domestic director, cast and storyline, tackling home-grown gang tensions encroaching on the lives of normal people.

The headline duo of Cosmo Jarvis ("Arm", the enforcer) and Barry Keoghan ("Dympna", the son of the drug-pedalling kingpins) are brilliant, and Keoghan was actually the reason this film caught my eye. The surrounding cast are equally competent, and I was pleasantly surprised by this quality oozing elsewhere.

My waxing lyrical about the settings is not misguided - some of the scenes in more remote Ireland are perfect, an allegory for the hopelessness and desolation some of the characters feel at the same time. Shot selection is also paramount, and Calm with Horses uses the more claustrophobic settings well to build tension. One shot in particular, filmed at the druglord's farmhouse during some blustery weather, is cinematic gold.

Story-wise, this isn't going to blow you out of the water; a fairly standard premise, arc and character development awaits, and I would say this is the film's greatest fault.

However, clearly it was not produced without passion and feeling invested, and the end result is still a watchable (and above all, enjoyable) small-town film.

Superb movie from Ireland and the acting from all was top notch especially the lead guy. The movie flies by quite quickly and doesn't disappoint from start to finish. I would definitely watch this again in a few years time.

You can guess how this is going to go quite early on but stick with it because the journey is rewarding. Convincing performances all round and a great score.

Wow. I would have loved to have watched this on the big screen but it came out just as lockdown was taking hold. This is not a film for the faint hearted. Cosmo Jarvis plays Arm, an ex boxer who, having lost his vacation, has hooked up with a gangster type family to be their 'hatchet man'. Violence is all he's ever known. But he's not an evil man, and the methods of his bosses don't sit well with him. But he gets on with it - until he's asked to do a job too far, that has repurcussions for everyone. An absolute gem of a film. Dark. Tense. Gritty. And yet with hope. Bravo

The movie has great cinematography, great location and a great performance from the lead actors.

....But the pacing isn't great. I felt like I was watching filler a few times. The climax of the film is let down. The ending was well foreshadowed but also too much of a cliche.

The director very obviously wouldn't mention what part of Ireland this was based in and I just thought it was very lazy writing. Let the audience get to know the movie

Cosmo Jarvis deserves a mention he got the rough Irish accent down to a tee.

This movie leaves you with a feeling you can't shake. It's not one of those superficial Hollywood, wooden actors type stuff. This is gritty, top notch acting. You don't doubt the characters realness at any moment. It's not for the faint hearted, if you are looking for formulaic gangster movie then this isn't for you. It's set in Ireland which we don't see much on our screens so it was very refreshing. Artistically executed, great film.

I watched this Movie after reading all of the amazing reviews on IMBD and once again I worry about the validity of the reviewers on here.

This is at best a missed opportunity and even that is high praise.

Its slow and I mean SLOW.

Nothing really happens and if it does you wont care.

The supporting Cast here were of such a high caliber of actors it was a shame to see them try and save this.

I've seen Cosmo Jarvis in other work and he's been a fine actor. Here he is just dull and hard to understand.

Barry Keoghan has never been one of my favorite actors but he's wasted here. I've seen him put in some decent performances but he doesn't get a chance here. He turns his head to the side and mutters his lines.

Don't be fooled by the reviews. This is not another Irish Classic .