Director John Michael McDonagh shows Tarantino-esque style in his delightful debut, combining a blackly comic tone, a cops-and-smugglers story and snappy, philosophically inclined dialogue. The Guard is set in a small town in County Galway, where sergeant Gerry Boyle (Gleeson) has been content to observe the idiocy of the local toughs and spend time with his terminally ill ma. Suddenly a few murders arrive on his doorstep, bringing with them uptight FBI agent Wendell Everett (Cheadle).

Thanks to his mighty performance, this is Gleeson’s show. The Irish actor is the comic centre and the melancholy heart of a film that’s content to put its engaging characters above their meandering misdeeds.