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The Banshees of Inisherin


Criminally, this is only Martin McDonagh's FOURTH feature, but it's vying with In Bruges as his best yet. In fact, were it not for the uneven mess of Seven Psychopaths, he'd be on a brilliant run, including Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The Banshees of Inisherin reunites Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell in a story of two mates, Colm and Pádraic, on an Irish island in the 1920s, trying to deal with some friendship issues. In a nutshell, Colm decides one day that he's had enough of his mate and his attempts to keep Pádraic at arm's length become increasingly.....inventive. Farrell and Gleeson are brilliant; Pádraic's outburst in J.J.Devine's public house is a super scene, and I reckon this film might be the highpoint of his gathering storm as a genuine talent. His esoteric choice of films going back a few years are indicative of this - probably since 2015's The Lobster, and running through The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Beguiled and After Yang. Gleeson's scene in the confessional is another unmitigated peach.


Now, as front-facing as the lads are in this, I reckon Kerry Condon as Siobhán is the star. She's outstanding as Pádraic's unmarried sister, the sensible anchor to all the coming shenanigans, and the film came to a natural conclusion for me when her story ended. All the petty shit with the man-children of this inbred island wears her down until she finally does one to the mainland, and understandably so. Barry Keoghan as dimwitted Dominic deserves praise, as do the priest and the cop, the publican and the gobby shopkeeper. The scene where she's digging for 'news' from Pádraic is magnificent. Pretty fine cast all round.

Niceness, and the nebulous nature of it, is a central theme, but for all the bleak solemnity about relationships and the inevitable strains upon them, this is a wickedly funny film. I can't recall laughing so much at the cinema this year (maybe Violent Night?) One unnamed patron* even likened it, maybe ungraciously, to a feature length Father Ted episode. I'll have to take his word for it. There are great lines of dialogue throughout and the fantastic Irish accent doesn't hurt the delivery of them ("One boring man? You're all feckin' boring!")


McDonagh infuses his film with familiar notes - mundane, yet bloody injuries (reminiscent of In Bruges), burning buildings (Three Billboards), animals in key scenes (Seven Psychopaths), sudden moments of shock (all of the above) - and the island scenery, shot by Ben Davis, is spectacular and lovely, not to mention Carter Burwell's gorgeous score. The out-of-sight, out-of-mind civil war across the water is a clear metaphor but it's not played too heavily, and only really operates as an off-screen reflection of the 'battle' between the leads. The banshees of the title may refer to the old 'ghoul', Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton), who utters Macbeth-ian shite, hinting at the likely continuance of the 'beef' between Colm and Pádraic. 

But c'mere to me now, I could probably watch this film every year until the banshees wail for me. It's a fantastic delight.

The Banshees of Inisherin opens on Dec 26th at the Luna and Palace cinemas. 

See also:

Obviously, check out all of McDonagh's previous work, but also, this film could be seen as a modern (?) version of John Ford's The Quiet Man (1952). 

* It was Merv.

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