The Banshees of Inisherin

Details: Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan

MPAA Rating: R

Release Date: October 21, 2022

The Banshees of Inisherin has been easily one of the most anticipated films of the year for many people, myself included. Martin McDonagh has already established himself as a master of his craft, after releasing masterpieces such as In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, and most recently Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, which essentially swept every major award at the Oscars upon release.

In his latest film, McDonagh alums, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson portray two best friends, and the turmoil they go through after one of them cuts off their relationship. At first glance, the premise isn't much. Especially in comparison to McDonagh's previous films about assassins, psychopaths, and murderers. Going into the movie I expected there to be much more behind the simplistic premise, but was surprised to see that the synopsis given on IMDB and Letterboxd was pretty much exactly how the actual movie is. If you're going into this movie wanting to see some exciting action and fast-paced entertainment, exchange your ticket and go see Avatar 2 or Violent Night instead. The Banshees of Inisherin, really takes its time, slowly crafting an intricate and complex story tackling themes of friendship, loneliness, existential crisis, and everyone's favorite question: what's the purpose of life?

There's no way to get through this slow of a movie without the brilliant acting of basically every actor and actress in the film. To no one's surprise, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are superb and every exchange between them is mesmerizing and never boring. It's not as if they're doing anything particularly interesting for most of the run-time. The majority of the movie is really just these two men feuding and arguing in an Irish pub or on a beach. Regardless, the delivery of the lines, expressions on their face, and overall performance really pulls the audience in and makes them invested or at the very least interested in their characters. With that being said, I think the real stand-out of the film is Kerry Condon's Siobhan. While a majority of the characters we follow throughout the movie seem to be more caricatures or exemplifications of certain human qualities, not really doing rational things or behaving in a normal, human way; Siobhan is easily the most human character out of all of them, portraying the sense of reason throughout the whole film. She acts as the audience in some ways, questioning the stupidity of the main feud throughout the movie, and dreaming of bigger things than just the tiny island of Inisherin. Without the compassion and human character of Siobhan, I most likely would not have been near as invested as I was and therefore, the movie wouldn't have made as big of an impact on me. I was a little disappointed that Barry Keoghan didn't get a bigger role. He is in the movie quite a bit and was such an interesting character but I thought there would be more for him to do and wish I could have seen more of him.

On the topic of Inisherin, a trademarked McDonagh movie trait is making the location of the movie a character itself. Whether it be the fairytale-like Bruges or a small town in Missouri, McDonagh has a gift of making the location of the film more than just a pretty backdrop and a character in its own right, and Banshees is no different. This can be largely attributed to Ben Davis' beautiful cinematography, highlighting just how beautifully boring this place is. The story taking place on the island of Inisherin is integral to the overall plot and function of the movie. It represents this void of bland, simple existence that spurs this existential crisis that many of the characters in the movie go through. Unlike Bruges, there's no beautiful gothic architecture or sparkling lights that whisk the audience into the location. Even unlike Ebbing, Missouri, Inisherin doesn't really possess any feeling of danger or tension that a racist neighbor or something will hunt you down. The tiny Irish island is really dull but that's the point. The feeling of nothing happening on the island is exactly what many of the characters in the movie feel and it's the vehicle McDonagh is using to tackle the issue of the purpose of life.

Farell's character represents being content with what you have. He has no issue living the remainder of his days on this tiny island, tending to his animals, and getting wasted at a bar every day starting at 2 in the afternoon. Gleeson's character represents the opposite, a man who is uncontent with his life and is realizing that he is doing nothing with it. He wants to be remembered for doing something great and is isolating himself in order to pursue some sort of purpose in his life. The two men represent two extremes, and tackle another interesting question of: does it matter if you're remembered in the future if you push everyone away in the present? Only Codon's character really finds the healthy balance of the two, wanting to achieve her goals, but not at the expense of others around her and not just obsessing over it. I'm not claiming to be an expert on what happened in Banshees, as I definitely missed some deeper themes and messages (as I generally do with McDonagh's films) and there are multiple individual interpretations of what happened, but that's just what I personally got.

On another more technical aspect, the script, as always, is on point. McDonagh also wrote the film and his trademarked dark-comedy is ever present throughout the movie, invoking the all too familiar feeling of "Am I allowed to laugh at what just happened?" While his humor in this one is a bit different than the more conventional comedy in his previous works, Banshees still hit me all the same.

While the film is great on multiple levels, there are still a few issues with it. The pacing could still definitely be worked on especially in the second act where I did find myself drifting off. Additionally (although this isn't really the fault of the movie) there were many lines that I missed or had difficulty comprehending just due to me not being used to the dialect the characters were speaking in. The strong Irish accents as well as the clipped English they were using, does get some getting used to and if you're watching on streaming, I highly recommend using subtitles.

All-in-all, Banshees of Inisherin is another strong movie, featuring great performances, a dark-witty script, and interesting themes. While it may not be the masterpiece some are claiming it to be and not my personal favorite of McDonagh's filmography, I still had fun with it and will probably end up rewatching it at least once to pick up on all the little things I missed.

Star Rating: 8/10