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View ProfilesPublished December 21, 2022 at 10:00 a.m.
British Irish playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh earned acclaim for the Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, but some critics, including me, felt he got in over his head when he tried to tackle the topic of American racial inequities. In his new dark comedy, The Banshees of Inisherin, McDonagh returns to the rural Irish setting of his early plays. With acclaimed performances by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson and eight Golden Globe Award nominations, it's sure to be in the Oscar conversation. As of press time, find it at the Palace 9 Cinemas or on HBO Max.
In 1923, the Irish Civil War is winding up, but nothing exciting is happening on the remote island of Inisherin. That changes one day when farmer Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell) stops in to collect his older drinking buddy, Colm Doherty (Gleeson), for their afternoon trip to the pub.
Colm has unilaterally terminated his friendship with Pádraic. When pressed to explain, he declares, "I just don't like ye no more." When pressed further, he elaborates that Pádraic's "dull" conversation is holding him back from fulfilling the artistic aspirations to which he wishes to dedicate the rest of his life.
Pádraic does not take rejection well. Lonely and bereft, he complains to the barman, to his bookish sister (Kerry Condon), to his donkey and to the local cop's son (Barry Keoghan), who's generally considered even "duller" than he is. Eventually, Pádraic makes such a fuss that Colm resorts to a nuclear option for keeping him away, and the whole village feels the fallout.
Compared with McDonagh's previous films, The Banshees of Inisherin is downright minimalist: no hit men, no shoot-outs, no plot contortions. Even meta commentaries on art are largely absent, though we do learn that Colm, a fiddler, is writing a tune called "The Banshees of Inisherin." Speaking perhaps for his creator, he admits he chose the title simply because he likes the repeated sh sounds.
The closest the film has to a banshee is old Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton), who's prone to standing ominously in people's paths and issuing vague predictions of coming death. While she may not be the wailing spirit of folklore, The Banshees of Inisherin as a whole feels like a traditional tale passed around at the pub — in its simplicity, its resonance and its use of repetition.
Pádraic's dogged pursuit and Colm's equally stubborn resistance have a timeless, Looney Tunes quality, even as their conflict is all too relatable. Friendship breakups haven't been dealt with in fiction nearly as much as romantic ones. But these actors mine gold from the subject — Farrell furrowing his furry brows with the cluelessness of a lovelorn middle schooler while Gleeson peers at him with the sad weariness of a parent who just wants some alone time. Condon and Keoghan contribute equally strong performances — the former deliciously acerbic, the latter hiding flashes of intuition beneath a none-too-bright exterior.
The deadpan rhythm of McDonagh's dialogue keeps the story ticking along. Never mind that it often sounds more like high-quality sitcom banter from the aughts than anything Irish villagers would have said a century ago. (I'm going to hazard a guess that they didn't disparage their fellow townspeople as "judgy.") The combination of wit, performances and pacing makes the film so enjoyable that its darkness sneaks up on us like a slowly rising tide.
When Colm rejects Pádraic for being "dull," the word implies "none too bright" as well as "boring." Indeed, Pádraic is no deep thinker — we're told he's prone to monologues about the contents of his beloved animals' droppings — and Colm has reached a point in his life where he finds deep thought necessary.
But is he capable of it? The film takes on a subtle tragic dimension when Colm explains what he hopes to do with his remaining life — to make something immortal, as did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. While Pádraic gets the laugh in this scene by declaring that Mozart can't be immortal since he's never heard of the man, Colm betrays his own ignorance by placing Mozart in the wrong century.
Is Colm a frustrated artist fighting nobly against the limitations of his birth — which include Pádraic's friendship? Or is he merely the village blowhard? By turning his back on an old companion, is he making the best of his final years or just accelerating his progress toward death? As the conflict draws toward its climax, the last possibility looms large.
We may want to feel superior to both these yokels, but The Banshees of Inisherin doesn't let us. This comic fable has a center as cold and bitter as a lifetime of disappointment, and the irony at its core rings true.
In Bruges (2008; rentable): McDonagh also paired Gleeson and Farrell in his first dark comedy, in which they play two hit men with wildly contrasting personalities.
Calvary (2014; Kanopy, Cinemax, rentable): John Michael McDonagh, Martin's older brother, wrote and directed this acclaimed drama in which Gleeson plays an Irish priest who receives a disturbing message in the confessional.
God's Creatures (2022; rentable): Or perhaps you're just interested in more films set in insular, picturesque Irish villages? In this recent release, Emily Watson plays a mother trying to convince herself that her son (Paul Mescal) didn't commit a heinous crime. Also, check out The Wonder (2022; Netflix) and the upcoming The Quiet Girl.
Tags: Movie+TV Reviews, The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Staff Picks, Video
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