THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
*****
Director: Martin McDonagh
Screenplay: Martin McDonagh
Principal cast:
Colin Farrell
Brendan Gleeson
Kerry Condon
Barry Keoghan
Pat Shortt
Gary Lydon
Country: Ireland/UK/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 114 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2022.
British/Irish playwright Martin McDonagh doesn’t direct many films and when he does he rarely disappoints. He didn’t direct his first movie until he was 38 and, since then, he’s only made four - and what a group they are: In Bruges in 2008, Seven Psychopaths in 2012, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017 and now The Banshees of Inisherin, possibly the best of them all. He’s said that, “I suppose I walk that line between comedy and cruelty because I think one illuminates the other. We're all cruel, aren't we? We are all extreme in one way or another at times and that's what drama, since the Greeks, has dealt with. I hope the overall view isn't just that though, or I've failed in my writing. There have to be moments when you glimpse something decent, something life-affirming even in the most twisted character. That's where the real art lies,” and his new film fits that description perfectly. It’s a daft, strange tale of a very cruel act that’s almost mythic in its concerns.
Cow herd Pádraic and fiddle player Colm (McDonagh regular Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, co-stars in In Bruges) have been friends for as long as anyone can remember, meeting every afternoon at the local shebeen at two for a pint of ale, so it’s a shock to all when Colm suddenly announces that he doesn’t want Pádraic to talk to him anymore. Understandably, Pádraic is perplexed and hurt, saying, “If I’ve done something to you, just tell me what I’ve done to you.” Colm’s having none of it though, frankly stating, “I just don’t like ya no more.” Furthermore, he threatens that every time Pádraic talks to him, he’ll cut off one of his own fingers and give it to him. So begins this dark-as-night black comedy set in 1923 on the (fictional) island of Inisherin, just off the west coast of the Irish mainland where the Civil War is raging. The conflict between the two men naturally spills over and affects others in the small community, in particular Pádraic’s long-suffering younger sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and local policeman’s son Dominic (Barry Keoghan). They both try to heal the rift in their own way: Siobhán approaches Colm directly, asking him why he’s dumped Pádric, only to be told that it’s because “He’s dull.” “But he’s always been dull,” she exclaims; Dominic thinks that Colm might be trying to get Pádraic to stand up for himself. Neither approach bears any fruit – Colm won’t budge – and his obstinacy causes an alarming change in soft-hearted Pádraic, who the publican always referred to as “one of life’s good guys.”
With The Banshees of Inisherin McDonagh says he wanted to create characters that people wouldn’t have encountered before. “You'll identify with some and disagree with others. It's very funny, but there’s also a sadness that I really wanted to capture. Filmmakers don’t usually try to send an audience away sad. But that was part of it - a sad truth about this story, about Ireland at that time and maybe about life,” he says. Music plays an important part in the film and for this McDonagh has turned once again to Carter Burwell, who wrote the score for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and is the Coen Brothers go-to composer. It’s a wonderful score, eerie and ethereal at times, well-suited to the movie’s themes. But it’s McDonagh’s script and the extraordinarily authentic performances by the actors that really make the film. Farrell gives one of the best of his career - he’s achingly good - and Gleeson, Condon, Keoghan and the others in the ensemble (including the miniature donkey, Jenny) completely bring this tragically humorous tale to vivid reality. The clever screenplay asks us to consider what is important in life and examines what causes people to turn on each other. Is it better to be ‘nice’ or to be true to yourself? Can one be both or are they mutually exclusive?
The Banshees of Inisherin received a lengthy standing ovation on its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Farrell), and it’s been nominated for eight Golden Globes. It will also, undoubtedly, feature prominently when the Oscars are announced. Don’t miss this film, it’s one of the year’s best.
Screenplay: Martin McDonagh
Principal cast:
Colin Farrell
Brendan Gleeson
Kerry Condon
Barry Keoghan
Pat Shortt
Gary Lydon
Country: Ireland/UK/USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 114 mins.
Australian release date: 26 December 2022.
British/Irish playwright Martin McDonagh doesn’t direct many films and when he does he rarely disappoints. He didn’t direct his first movie until he was 38 and, since then, he’s only made four - and what a group they are: In Bruges in 2008, Seven Psychopaths in 2012, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri in 2017 and now The Banshees of Inisherin, possibly the best of them all. He’s said that, “I suppose I walk that line between comedy and cruelty because I think one illuminates the other. We're all cruel, aren't we? We are all extreme in one way or another at times and that's what drama, since the Greeks, has dealt with. I hope the overall view isn't just that though, or I've failed in my writing. There have to be moments when you glimpse something decent, something life-affirming even in the most twisted character. That's where the real art lies,” and his new film fits that description perfectly. It’s a daft, strange tale of a very cruel act that’s almost mythic in its concerns.
Cow herd Pádraic and fiddle player Colm (McDonagh regular Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, co-stars in In Bruges) have been friends for as long as anyone can remember, meeting every afternoon at the local shebeen at two for a pint of ale, so it’s a shock to all when Colm suddenly announces that he doesn’t want Pádraic to talk to him anymore. Understandably, Pádraic is perplexed and hurt, saying, “If I’ve done something to you, just tell me what I’ve done to you.” Colm’s having none of it though, frankly stating, “I just don’t like ya no more.” Furthermore, he threatens that every time Pádraic talks to him, he’ll cut off one of his own fingers and give it to him. So begins this dark-as-night black comedy set in 1923 on the (fictional) island of Inisherin, just off the west coast of the Irish mainland where the Civil War is raging. The conflict between the two men naturally spills over and affects others in the small community, in particular Pádraic’s long-suffering younger sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and local policeman’s son Dominic (Barry Keoghan). They both try to heal the rift in their own way: Siobhán approaches Colm directly, asking him why he’s dumped Pádric, only to be told that it’s because “He’s dull.” “But he’s always been dull,” she exclaims; Dominic thinks that Colm might be trying to get Pádraic to stand up for himself. Neither approach bears any fruit – Colm won’t budge – and his obstinacy causes an alarming change in soft-hearted Pádraic, who the publican always referred to as “one of life’s good guys.”
With The Banshees of Inisherin McDonagh says he wanted to create characters that people wouldn’t have encountered before. “You'll identify with some and disagree with others. It's very funny, but there’s also a sadness that I really wanted to capture. Filmmakers don’t usually try to send an audience away sad. But that was part of it - a sad truth about this story, about Ireland at that time and maybe about life,” he says. Music plays an important part in the film and for this McDonagh has turned once again to Carter Burwell, who wrote the score for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and is the Coen Brothers go-to composer. It’s a wonderful score, eerie and ethereal at times, well-suited to the movie’s themes. But it’s McDonagh’s script and the extraordinarily authentic performances by the actors that really make the film. Farrell gives one of the best of his career - he’s achingly good - and Gleeson, Condon, Keoghan and the others in the ensemble (including the miniature donkey, Jenny) completely bring this tragically humorous tale to vivid reality. The clever screenplay asks us to consider what is important in life and examines what causes people to turn on each other. Is it better to be ‘nice’ or to be true to yourself? Can one be both or are they mutually exclusive?
The Banshees of Inisherin received a lengthy standing ovation on its debut at the Venice Film Festival, where it won awards for Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Farrell), and it’s been nominated for eight Golden Globes. It will also, undoubtedly, feature prominently when the Oscars are announced. Don’t miss this film, it’s one of the year’s best.