Gleeson backs McDonagh over Irish film remarks

Actor Brendan Gleeson has said director John Michael McDonagh was right to question the standards of Irish films.

Speaking at the launch of The Walworth Farce, which will feature himself and his two acting sons, Brian and Domhnall Gleeson, Brendan Gleeson said it was "no harm to be told that we need to up our standards". The play will run for four weeks from January 10th to February 8th at the Olympia theatre.

Brendan Gleeson has been the lead actor in McDonagh’s first two films The Guard and Calvary.

McDonagh was quoted recently as saying that Irish films are neither intelligent nor technically accomplished. He also said that Irish audiences “know that lots of Irish films aren’t very good and they’re actually hesitant about going to see the movie themselves.

“So when you’re making a film there, you’re trying to convince the Irish audience: no, it’s not like all those terrible Irish movies you’ve seen before.”

He also stated that Calvary was not an Irish film, but a film set in Ireland.

In response, Gleeson said “it was unfortunate the way it was put” and that it had not been McDonagh’s intention to criticise all Irish films.

The director had subsequently issued a clarification to his comments stating his belief “that many Irish films in the past should not have gone into production without better screenplays and without greater preparation on the part of their directors. That is my opinion and I am perfectly entitled to it.”

McDonagh also thanked the Irish Film Board for its help. Calvary got €975,000 in funding.

Gleeson pointed out that the commercial success of the film means all the money has been paid back. “It is important from my point of view that money given to the arts wasn’t thrown back into people’s faces or that they should feel like losers,” he said.

However, he said the director was right to say that the standard of Irish filmmaking has to be improved.

“There is no harm if we have a bit of a debate about our own standards. It is a tiny market. Our standards have to be higher than everybody else’s if we are to survive because film is expensive and it is hard to do right. I welcome the debate frankly,” he said.

The Walworth Farce is written by Enda Walsh and is about a father and his two sons who emigrate to London from Cork. Domhnall Gleeson had first seen the play and brought it to the attention of his father.

“I’m doing it with a certain amount of trepidation given that it is about a father and two sons,” Brendan Gleeson said.

“We’ll be rehearsing all over December. It will make for an interesting Christmas dinner. Conversation about The Walworth Farce over the Christmas dinner will be banned. It’s really exciting to work with two lads who I can’t wait to act with. We hope that everybody can have a great time.”

It is the first time that Brendan Gleeson has appeared on stage for almost 15 years.