Calm with Horses

2020 1h 40m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 167

CrimeDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Cosmo Jarvis
Arm
Barry Keoghan
Dympna
Niamh Algar
Ursula
Ned Dennehy
Paudi
Kiljan Moroney
Jack
Brid Brennan
Maire Mirkin
Liam Carney
Fannigan
Simone Kirby
June

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Nick Rowland
Writers: Colin Barrett, Ian McCaffrey, Joseph Murtagh
Languages: English
Countries: Ireland, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 6 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Nick Rowland, shot by Piers McGrail. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Benjamin John Power. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Matthew Tabern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Cosmo Jarvis and Barry Keoghan and Niamh Algar carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4460792 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Nick Rowland directs. Piers McGrail behind the camera. Benjamin John Power scores. Matthew Tabern cuts. Produced in Ireland, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 6 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: Ireland, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Nick Rowland, shot by Piers McGrail. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Benjamin John Power. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Matthew Tabern shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Cosmo Jarvis and Barry Keoghan and Niamh Algar carry the top of the cast.
7IMDB entry: tt4460792 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Piers McGrail
Original score: Benjamin John Power
Editing: Matthew Tabern
Production design: Damien Creagh
Costume design: Sharon Long
Makeup / hair: Emma Scott
VFX supervisor: Brooke Lyndon-Stanford
Sound: Matis Rei
Stunt coordinator: Peter Pedrero
Runtime: 100 min · 1h 40m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Calm with Horses (2020)

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Nick Rowland

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Community reviews

What people are saying

SWITCH.2020-12-05
★ 8/10
'Calm with Horses' is definitely engrossing and heavy shit. There's some savage inner violence going on within the main character; the barbarity on the screen can't match the turmoil that's going on in his head. It's a strikingly accomplished portrait of a broken soul hauling himself back up from rock bottom. - Jake Watt Read Jake's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-calm-with-horses-a-savage-and-sensitive-irish-crime-drama
CinemaSerf2025-05-29
★ 7/10
Ned Dennehy is one of those character actors who never really owns a film but always make quite an impression - especially if his part requires a degree of menacing unpleasantness. Well here he delivers that in spades as we follow the life of his enforcer “Arm” (Cosmo Jarvis). He has been instructed to deal with a former family affiliate who has raped one of his “Devers” family. Thing is, though, “Arm” is a violent man - a former boxer who is no stranger to prison - but he isn’t a killer. Indeed, he is determined to try avoid carrying out his instructions as well as to patch things up with his ex-wife - if only because he wants to spend more time with his gradually alienated autistic son “Jack” (the scene stealing (Kiljan Moroney). Egged on constantly by his brutal and manipulative puppet-master “Dympna” (Barry Keoghan), the young man starts to feel even more conflicted and suffers the consequences as he realises that loyalty counts for nothing unless it delivers unconditionally to a family of unforgiving thugs. Jarvis is on great form here too, as is Keoghan showing us his mastery of the flighty yet odious son of a family all too used to getting their way. The violence isn’t especially graphic, it’s more implied - and that’s quite effective in this rather powerful look at how rural life in Ireland might unfold amidst an almost Dickensian social structure. Original? Well no, the story isn’t especially new or innovative but it’s the characterisation of the torn man with the muscle who must find a new sort of courage if his life is ever to improve that stands out. It’s not an easy watch, but it’s bleakness and grittiness helps create something at times touchingly authentic.