Barry Keoghan is one of the stars of the film, which is set in the West of Ireland.
Our TV movie pick for tonight is Calm With Horses, the incredible 2019 Irish crime thriller starring Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) and Cosmo Jarvis (Shōgun).
The film centres around Douglas ‘Arm’ Armstrong (Jarvis), a once-promising boxer who quit the sport after a tragic event in the ring.
Attempting to provide for his autistic son with his ex-partner, Ursula (Niamh Algar), Arm works for the feared criminal family, the Devers, in the West of Ireland.
The family’s operation is run by a pair of brothers: Hector (David Wilmot), who has aspirations of going legit, and Paudi (Ned Dennehy), a more vicious and scary figure.
Arm is mostly employed as a muscle man to Hector and Paudi’s nephew Dympha (Keoghan). His loyalty to the family is tested, however, when he is ordered by the clan to kill someone.
Calm With Horses does a terrific job of transplanting many of the staples of the gangster genre (intrigue, shocking violence, thrilling set-pieces) into rural Ireland.
That said, it’s more emotional than you might expect, with the core of the story being about the clash between Arm’s real family and his surrogate family, the Devers.
It’s also all about whether Arm can find redemption for the violence he has committed in the employ of the Devers, and if so, how?
The supporting cast of the movie is terrific too, featuring Irish performers Bríd Brennan, Hazel Doupe, Liam Carney, Simone Kirby and Toni O’Rourke.
Calm With Horses’ Irish cinema release in March 2020 was cut short by Covid-19. As such, it probably hasn’t garnered the audience it deserves.
The film is airing on TV tonight/tomorrow morning on Film4 at 1.55am, so we’d advise recording it, given the late time.
It’s also currently streaming on Mubi and it should be available to watch on Channel 4’s website after it airs.
Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight:
Ice Cold in Alex – BBC Four – 8pm
The acclaimed ’50s British WWII film starring John Mills (Ryan’s Daughter).
A Few Good Men – Film4 – 9pm
‘You can’t handle the truth!’
Role Models – Comedy Central – 9pm
In this very fun comedy, Paul Rudd and Seann William Scott play two friends forced to become role models to teens after getting arrested.
Out of the Furnace – Legend – 9pm
This underrated, star-studded crime thriller sees Christian Bale and Casey Affleck play brothers who have fallen on hard times and wind up on the wrong side of a vicious crime lord (Woody Harrelson).
Striking Distance – Legend Xtra – 9pm
Bruce Willis plays a former homicide detective on the hunt for a serial killer in this watchable ’90s thriller.
The Dead Pool – ITV4 – 9pm
In the fifth and final movie in the Dirty Harry franchise, Inspector Harry Callahan (Clint Eastwood) must stop a sick secret contest to kill local celebrities, which includes himself as a target.
A quite fun action thriller, The Dead Pool co-stars Liam Neeson and a young Jim Carrey.
The Fortune Cookie – Sky Arts – 9pm
This ’60s Oscar-winning black comedy from director Billy Wilder (The Apartment, Double Indemnity) stars Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau.
Now You See Me 2 – Sky Showcase – 10pm
In this hit sequel, the Four Horsemen – a group of magicians (including Jesse Eisenberg and Woody Harrelson) who perform elaborate heists – are coerced by a tech magnate (Daniel Radcliffe) into stealing a powerful data chip.
Malcolm X – BBC Four – 10.05pm
Director Spike Lee’s incredible, epic retelling of the life of Malcolm X as played by Denzel Washington in one of his best performances.
Red Heat – ITV4 – 10.55pm
In this solid ’80s action flick, a Russian cop (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is forced to team up with an American detective (Jim Belushi) to take down a dangerous criminal.
She Never Died – Legend Xtra – 11pm
This Canadian horror comedy about a woman with a mysterious past tracking down those responsible for a person’s disappearance has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Braven – Legend – 11.15pm
In this well-reviewed action thriller, a logger (Jason Momoa) and his father (Stephen Lang) on a trip to their hunting cabin find themselves fighting for survival when they encounter a gang of ruthless drug traffickers.
Bloodshot – Film4 – 11.45pm
Vin Diesel is the lead in this 2020 action sci-fi about a soldier who dies before being brought back to life with superpowers by an organisation that wants to use him as a weapon.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
