19 Oct The Banshees of Inisherin Review

THE BANSHESS OF INISHERIN

dir. Martin McDonagh, starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan

The Banshees of Inisherin, the latest film by writer/director Martin McDonagh, tells a story set during the Irish Civil War of a man whose best friend abruptly ceases all contact with him. Taking place in a small town, the uncoupling of the pair sends shock waves through the close-knit community to both humorous and disquieting results.

Part of the beauty and the brilliance of The Banshees of Inisherin is in its storytelling. How Martin McDonagh chooses to present their friendship is a brilliant bit of filmmaking; the viewers never get to see a before, only an after. In most movies, there would be a scene or scenes of the establishment of said friendship before destroying it; here that isn’t the case. Everything is revealed through context or subtext; everyone in the town knows it and we know it through them, but it’s all off screen. Instead, McDonagh gives the audience small glimpses of the ghost of their relationship and the conversations that they’ve likely had in the past. Viewers are more or less left to fill in the gaps using their own close friendships to stand in for the movie, which further anchors them to Pádraic and his tragic sense of loss.

Starring both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, together for the first time since 2008’s In Bruges, the pair pick up right where they left off: a delicious mix of warmhearted friendship and constant annoyance that can only come with being longtime friends. Collin Farrell’s performance as Pádraic is award worthy; never has there been a lonelier, lost at sea man put on film. After Colm’s initial dismissal of Pádraic, his life is systematically stripped away, taking what little he had and leaving him with nothing at all. Farrell’s portrayal of a man who’s lost his best friend without knowing why is masterful. There’s a quiet loss and sorrow that he manages to convey both subtly and overtly. His quiet determination to win his friend back is admirable and warming, but most times heartbreaking.

Bredan Gleeson, who long ago mastered being one of Hollywood’s Gruff Old Men has taken that mantle and turned it up to 11 with this movie. The quieter of the two, Gleeson’s Colm Doherty starts the film with a new outlook on life, one that doesn’t involve his former best friend. Because the story is told through Pádraic’s eyes, we don’t get an internal view of Colm; almost everything we see of him is colored by and filtered through Pádraic. Still, Gleeson is great as the stoic fiddler attempting to create a new song. The chemistry between the two is undeniable, as shown in a heart wrenching scene between them without a word of spoken dialogue.

Also starring Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan, these two round out the principal cast. Kerry Condon shines as Siobhán Súilleabháin, Pádraic’s sister and housemate. While the majority of the movie is focused on Pádraic and Colm, Siobhán quietly has her own story developing in the background and Condon is more than up to the task. A voracious reader with dreams of making more out of her life than living in Inisheer, Siobhán represents the few that dare to attempt to leave the small where everyone knows everyone. There’s a quiet strength to the character, and Kerry Condon plays her levels of toughness and vulnerability wonderfully. Barry Keoghan continues his run as Hollywood’s best little supporting goblins as Pádraic’s friend of convenience. All at once jittery, jumpy, never standing still and saying whatever comes to his mind, Keoghan’s performance is manic with a hint of sweetness underneath.

Written, directed, and produced by Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin is something of a return to form. After working in the Hollywood model for two films (Seven Psychopaths and the award laden Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), McDonagh returned to his roots with Banshees, diving back into a dreary world filled with instantly unforgettable characters. To say McDonagh writes character-driven stories is an understatement; here in Inisherin the people who populate this tiny coastal town, be they in the entire movie or only a handful of scenes, are what make the story as good as it is. Thanks to McDonagh’s writing, Padraic, Colm, and Siobhan are all fully fleshed out, completely realized characters, each with their own motivations and desires either simple or complex. Thanks to McDonagh’s direction, he’s able to coax out the best performances from each actor and, along with longtime collaborator Ben Davis behind the camera, present dazzling gorgeous shots of Inisheer in all its green glory. Clocking in at just under two hours, the movie wastes no time getting to the heart of the matter and lets the story beats unfurl at their own pace.

Overall, The Banshees of Inisherin is far and away Martin McDonagh’s best film to date. While closest in spirit to his other cult favorite film In Bruges, Banshees possess an extra layer of sadness and loneliness that In Bruges barely scrapes the surface of. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, McDonagh’s trusty muses, bring their A game, with Farrell giving the performance of his career. Bleak, shocking, and at times hysterically funny, this movie proves Martin McDonagh is one of cinema’s most underrated directors working today. The Banshees of Inisherin hits theaters October 21st.

Review by Darryl Mansel