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Calm with Horses

Calm with Horses

Crime · Drama · 2020

In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.

Movie details

Calm with Horses

2020 Crime · Drama 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.8 / 10

8.4K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

94 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

67 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

6.3 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

In darkest rural Ireland, ex-boxer Douglas 'Arm' Armstrong has become the feared enforcer for the drug-dealing Devers family, whilst also trying to be a good father to his autistic five-year-old son, Jack. Torn between these two families, Arm's loyalties are truly tested when he is asked to kill for the first time.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Calm with Horses?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Taylor's hopes for a fresh start post-parole are jeopardised by cellmate Dee's arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own chances at freedom.

Traffic

Traffic

Thriller · 2000

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Nick Rowland

Written by

Joseph Murtagh

Cosmo Jarvis

Cosmo Jarvis

Arm

Barry Keoghan

Barry Keoghan

Dympna

Niamh Algar

Niamh Algar

Ursula

Ned Dennehy

Ned Dennehy

Paudi

Kiljan Moroney

Kiljan Moroney

Jack

Brid Brennan

Brid Brennan

Maire Mirkin

Liam Carney

Liam Carney

Fannigan

Court is in session

Put Calm with Horses on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.