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When John Michael McDonagh decided to write Calvary, he originally intended to base his screenplay on the Stations of the Cross. Also known as the Way of the Cross, the Stations are a series of images that portray the final moments of Jesus’ life. The first station depicts Christ’s trial, the second shows Him carrying the cross, and we eventually end at number fourteen where Jesus’ body is laid to rest.

McDonagh’s initial idea was to structure the story of Father James around Jesus’ trials and tribulations. (After all, the film is called Calvary, a reference to the mountain where Christ was crucified.) Only as McDonagh tried to piece everything together, he realized the Via Dolorosa idea just wasn’t going to work. If he included every single station, he would have one massive movie on his hands.

Scrapping that idea, McDonagh instead based his film on the Kubler-Ross model, better known as the five stages of grief. Developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, this famous model explains how people experiencing grief undergo five basic emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance.

With this in mind, audiences can watch as Father James goes through each stage over the course of Calvary’s running time (though not necessarily in that exact order). After the good priest learns an angry local wants to kill him, his immediate reaction is one of shock. He carries on his priestly duties, initially unsure what to do or how to respond to this threat against his life. When he first visits the bishop, he’s not even positive his would-be assailant will carry out his murderous plot.

However, Father James soon passes from denial to bargaining. Worried his days are coming to an end, the priest visits a local police officer and asks for a firearm. While Father James is unsure if self-defense violates the Ten Commandments, he’s seriously considering if he should use the weapon if necessary. Additionally, during his visits to the bishop, James asks for advice on what he should do, hoping to find some sort of answer to his dilemma.

Unfortunately, neither the gun nor the bishop are of any help, and Father James slowly loses his cool. As his hateful parishioners mercilessly mock the priest, James is tempted to respond in kind, engaging in several snarky tete-a-tetes with the more monstrous members of his community.

When he visits a convicted killer in prison, Father James grows impatient with the psychopath and refuses to offer absolution. When a mysterious arsonist sets his church on fire, James confronts the members of his congregation (who’ve gathered to laugh at his misfortune), angrily demanding why nobody told him sooner that his building was burning down. Eventually, he even turns on his fellow priest, insulting the man for timidity and lack of integrity.

James finally goes off the deep end after he’s suspected of pedophilia. Coupled with the death of his dog, James slips into depression, reverting to his former alcoholic self. And after several members of the church challenge his faith, the priest explodes, going so far as battling two of his parishioners in an off-screen bar brawl.

Eventually, Father James finds himself worn out and confused, both emotionally and spiritually. Thinking it might be best for everyone, including himself, he decides to take off his cassock and leave town. Only right before he boards an airplane, a chance encounter with one of the faithful gives him the will to go on. Accepting that he might very well die, Father James returns to the town and tosses his pistol into the ocean. While he hopes to survive the encounter with his stalker, he’s ready to absorb the man’s suffering…and his bullets if need be.