‘The Shadow of Violence’ Film Review: Cosmo Jarvis Might Break Your Nose and Your Heart
First-time feature director Nick Rowland has managed to make “The Shadow of Violence” a quiet and affecting character study in the moments when it’s not being brutal and bloody
Steve Pond | July 31, 2020 @ 12:25 PM
Last Updated: July 31, 2020 @ 1:31 PM
AWARDS BEAT
Saban Films
Early in “The Shadow of Violence,” a beefy Irish thug named Douglas Armstrong (“Arm” to everybody) defends his day job of beating people up for local gangsters by saying, “They say violence is done by hateful men — but sometimes, it’s just the way a fella makes sense of this world.”
The film uses lines like that in an attempt to pull off a tricky feat. It wants us to feel sympathy for Arm as a guy just trying to make sense of the world, but it doesn’t do it the easy way; first we see him calmly beat an old man to a pulp for something the guy might not have even done, and then we learn he has a heart of gold.
First-time feature director Nick Rowland stacks the deck against his lead character by doing it that way, but he’s not interested in making a typical movie about gangsters. Yes, what Arm does makes him a hateful man, and we can never forget that. And yes, we end up feeling for the guy despite that — partly because the people around him are even worse than he is, but also because Rowland has managed to make “The Shadow of Violence” a quiet and affecting character study in the moments when it’s not being brutal and bloody.
Arm will break your nose without batting an eye, but by the end of the film he might also break your heart.
The film, which is based on a short story by Colin Barrett, premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival under the title “Calm With Horses” and was acquired in the U.S. by Saban Films early this year. The original title, which was also used in its Irish theatrical release, is a reference to Arm’s autistic son, who is at his happiest when he’s around or riding horses. Arm isn’t sure about this — at one point he refers to a horse as “a f—ing hairy bike” — and he’s estranged from the boy’s mother, but at some level, he’s truly devoted to the son he can’t understand or connect with.
But Arm, who’s played by Cosmo Jarvis as a man who exudes hurt, not menace, isn’t really welcome in his son’s life as long as he’s working as an enforcer for the local gangsters. A former boxer who quit that profession after he killed another young man in the ring, he can’t see a way of making money except with his fists — and besides, his childhood friend Dympna (Barry Keoghan, “Dunkirk”) has made sure that Arm is welcomed by his uncles, who head the Devers crime family.
“People say they’re trouble, the Devers,” Arm says to the audience in a voiceover early in the film. “All families have problems. This is my family.”
But the people who say the Devers are trouble are right. Brothers Paudi and Hector Devers (Ned Dennehy and David Wilmot) are ruthless drug lords, Paudi dissolute-looking and vicious, and Hector, a touch classier. Their nephew Dympna is sullen and hostile and seemingly invulnerable because he’s a Devers; he may look meeker and less dangerous than Arm, but he’s the one who will leap straight to violence if he’s even slightly provoked.
But it turns out that the Devers didn’t want Arm to beat up that old man at the beginning of the film — they wanted him to kill the man, who climbed into bed with a teenage Devers girl while she was blacked-out drunk. Arm is bound to a narrow idea of masculinity that’s rooted in brute force, and his perpetually bruised and bloodied knuckles show that he’s perfectly fine beating people senseless — but a man’s got to draw the line somewhere, and for him, it’s killing.
On paper, that makes it sound like Arm is a sympathetic character only because the bar is set so low among this group of people. But the film somehow manages to infuse this thug with some battered shreds of humanity, both in his halting attempts to connect with his son and the wounded resignation with which he approaches his tasks.
Jarvis, a musician and actor who might be best known for his central role alongside Florence Pugh in “Lady Macbeth,” is quietly gripping as Arm; there are echoes of Matthias Schoenaerts’ breakout performance in the Belgian Oscar nominee “Bullhead” in the way Jarvis fleshes out a man struggling with his own brutality.
“That’s not you,” people keep telling Arm. But it is him, or at least what he has allowed himself to become. And when his reluctance to kill runs afoul of the Devers, the noose begins to tighten around him. He’s in trouble because he showed mercy, but he may have to become merciless to get out of trouble (if that’s even possible).
But Rowland, to his credit, is as reluctant to fully commit to the brutality as Arm is, leading to an elegantly shot final stretch that is as much an elegy as a showdown. While the film’s U.S. title isn’t as evocative as the one it started with, the new title does tell the story: This is more about the shadows than the violence.
Saban Films releases “The Shadow of Violence” in theaters on July 31 and on VOD and digital on Sept. 1.
All the Hollywood Films Arriving on Demand Early Because of the Coronavirus
Since most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.
Disney/Warner Bros./Universal
"Trolls World Tour"
The sequel to the 2017 animated hit announced it would be available for digital download on April 10 -- the same day it was supposed to land in theaters. Now it's a VOD exclusive.
Universal Pictures
"Birds of Prey"
The Margot Robbie spinoff of 2017's "Suicide Squad" debuted on demand on March 24. The film grossed $84 million since opening on Feb. 4.
Warner Bros.
"The Hunt"
The Universal/Blumhouse horror film was first delayed from release last fall due to controversy over its violent content -- and then sidelined after its March 13 opening by the coronavirus. It's available to stream now.
Universal Pictures
"The Invisible Man"
The Universal horror film starring Elisabeth Moss grossed nearly $65 million since its Feb. 26 release in theaters. It's available to stream now.
Universal Pictures
"Emma."
Focus Features' adaptation of the Jane Austen novel opened in limited release Feb. 21 -- and picked up $10 million in ticket sales until the pandemic shut down theaters. It's available to stream now.
Focus Features
"Bloodshot"
The Vin Diesel comic-book movie opened March 6 and grossed $10 million before theaters shut down. It's available on VOD now.
Sony Pictures
"I Still Believe"
Lionsgate's biopic starring K.J. Apa as Christian music star Jeremy Camp hit VOD on March 27 -- just two weeks after it opened in theaters.
Lionsgate
"The Way Back"
Warner Bros. released the Ben Affleck drama "The Way Back" -- which grossed $13 million in theaters since its March 6 opening -- on VOD less than three weeks later, on March 24.
Warner Bros.
"Onward"
Disney and Pixar’s animated feature was made available for purchase on Friday, March 20, and the film hit Disney+ on April 3.
Disney/Pixar
"Sonic the Hedgehog"
Paramount Pictures' "Sonic the Hedgehog" set a new record for video game adaptations with a $58 million domestic opening weekend on Feb. 14 and has grossed $306 million worldwide theatrically. It's available on demand now.
Paramount Pictures
"The Call of the Wild"
20th Century Studios' feel-good film starring Harrison Ford and a giant CGI dog is available on demand now.
20th Century
"Downhill"
Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation, a married couple (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell) is thrown into disarray as they are forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. It's available on demand now.
Fox Searchlight
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always"
"Never Rarely Sometimes Always" is the story of two teenage cousins from rural Pennsylvania who journey to New York City to seek an abortion. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and walked away with a Special Jury award. It's available for VOD now.
Focus Features
"Endings, Beginnings"
"Endings, Beginnings," a romantic drama from Drake Doremus starring Shailene Woodley, Sebastian Stan and Jamie Dornan, opened early on digital on April 17 and on demand on May 1. It was meant to open theatrically on May 1.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"To the Stars"
"To the Stars," a period drama set in 1960s Oklahoma that stars Kara Hayward, Liana Liberato, Jordana Spiro, Shea Whigham, Malin Akerman and Tony Hale, was bumped up to a digital release on April 24 and an on demand release on June 1. Martha Stephens directed the film that premiered at Sundance in 2019 and was meant to be released theatrically by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Impractical Jokers: The Movie"
truTV's first-ever feature-length film arrived early on digital on April 1. Follow James "Murr" Murray, Brian "Q" Quinn, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulvano, aka The Tenderloins, playing themselves in a fictional story of a humiliating high school mishap from the early '90s.
truTV
"Artemis Fowl"
Disney's adaptation of the Eoin Colfer fantasy novel "Artemis Fowl" was meant to debut in theaters on May 29 but premiered exclusively on Disney+. The film is directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Colin Farrell and Judi Dench.
Disney
"The Infiltrators"
The theatrical release of Oscilloscope's docu-thriller "The Infiltrators" has been postponed, and the film was released on both Cable On Demand and Digital Platforms starting June 2.
Oscilloscope
"Working Man"
The March 27 theatrical release of "Working Man" has been canceled due to the theater closures, and the film premiered on May 5 via Video On Demand.
Brainstorm Media
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story"
"Jump Shot: The Kenny Sailors Story," a sports documentary executive produced by NBA star Steph Curry, was made available for streaming on the new service Altavod between April 16-18 for $7.99 and is available for pre-order beginning April 9. 10% of all the proceeds will be donated to COVID-19 relief efforts. The documentary tells the story of the player, Kenny Sailors, who pioneered the jump shot, and it features interviews with Curry, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Clark Kellogg, Bobby Knight and more.
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
"Scoob!"
Warner Bros. announced on April 11 that it would release the family animated film “Scoob!” for digital ownership and premium video on-demand on May 15, making it the second film (after Universal's "Trolls World Tour") to cancel a planned theatrical release and head straight to home release pandemic.
Warner Bros.
"The King of Staten Island"
"The King of Staten Island," the comedy starring and co-written by "SNL" star Pete Davidson and directed by Judd Apatow, skipped its theatrical release date of June 19 and opened one week early on VOD everywhere on June 12.
Universal Pictures
"The High Note"
"The High Note," the latest film from "Late Night" director Nisha Ganatra that stars Tracee Ellis Ross and Dakota Johnson, made its premiere on VOD on May 29. It was meant to open on May 8 theatrically.
Focus Features
"Waiting for the Barbarians"
Ciro Guerra's film starring Mark Rylance, Johnny Depp and Robert Pattinson was originally slated for a theatrical release but was picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films to instead be released via cable on demand and on digital in August
Samuel Goldwyn Films
"Irresistible"
Jon Stewart's latest film, a political comedy called "Irresistible," will skip theaters and make its premiere online for on demand digital rental on June 26. The film from Focus Features stars Steve Carell and Rose Byrne and was meant to open in theaters on May 29.
Daniel McFadden / Focus Features
"My Spy"
The Dave Bautista action comedy "My Spy" was originally meant for a theatrical release from STXfilms and was due to hit theaters in March. Amazon then acquired the film from STX and will now release it on streaming on June 26.
Amazon Studios
"The One and Only Ivan"
The animated Disney film based on Thea Sharrock's best-selling children's book "The One and Only Ivan" is the latest feature to skip theaters and move to Disney+. The movie features the voice talent of Angelina Jolie, Danny Devito, Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren. The film was previously slated for theatrical release on August 14 but will now debut on Disney+ one week later on Aug. 21.
Disney
"The Secret Garden"
The re-imagining of the book "The Secret Garden" was meant to open in UK theaters in April but delayed its theatrical release until August. But STXfilms will now release the StudioCanal and Heyday Films movie on PVOD for $19.99 on August 7 in North America. "The Secret Garden" stars Colin Firth, Julie Walters and Dixie Egerickx.
STXfilms
1 of 29
“Irresistible” joins a list of big films heading to digital home entertainment platforms early
Since most U.S. movie theaters have shuttered in response to the coronavirus pandemic, studios are rushing out VOD home releases of movies that were only just in theaters.