The Grand Seduction is a charismatic and cheeky comedy led by Brendan Gleeson at his personable best.

The achievement of a hard day’s work is one that particularly resonates with men who have families, where accomplishment and fulfilment is felt in providing for those they love and support, no matter the brunt of their labours.

For the men of small Canadian harbour town Tickle Cove, that sense of purpose and fulfilment has withered away much like the fish they used to catch and export. Now they line up once a week for welfare cheques to make ends meet.

For town leader Murray French (Brendan Gleeson) it’s a shameful enterprise, especially when compared to the glory days where his father woke, worked, ate, made love, and repeated it all over again to genuine satisfaction.

Gleeson plays the role of Murray with the right mix of fiery passion and twinkle-eyed charm, his personable performance making us forgive the fact his Irish brogue doesn’t quite fit in this small Canadian town, yet so likeable is his character that you won’t be able to turn down an offer to share a beer with him, or violate your moral constitution if asked you to do so.

That is something Murray asks his fellow residents to do when the opportunity arises to secure the contract to a factory in their fair town. The only catch is they need a full-time doctor. Fate provides a prospect in Dr. Lewis (Taylor Kitsch), an L.A. doctor who Murray and his townspeople must convince to stay for the long term.

It’s how they try and do so which generates the cheeky charm that is sure to win many over. Sure there are lies, deceptions and emotional manipulation at play. Yet so earnest are there intentions and so funny the results of their charade (which includes a feign love for cricket, jazz and Indian food) that it’s hard not to be won over by the people of Tickle Cove.

As directed by Don McKellar and written by Michael Dowse (based on the French Canadian film Seducing Dr. Lewis), The Grand Seduction is a snug film about community and the torture of men out of work. There’s a warmth to it, a likeability that doesn’t wear off. Gleeson’s big grizzly bear persona is a big reason why.