
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Written & Directed: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Paul Gleason; Colin Farrell; Kerry Condon.
by paulieb2003@gmail.com
Martin McDonagh is a force of nature. The man wrote and directed Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri previous to this film, and I really enjoyed that film too. In fact it won a few Oscars in 2017, including Best Picture. So this guy is no slouch, and let me tell you – as much as I enjoyed Billboards – I enjoyed this film even more.
Billboards brought Oscars to Sam Rockwell and Frances McDormand – and I believe Inisherin will bring Oscar nominations to Gleason and Farrell.
A simple movie set on a fictional small island off the coast of Ireland. They are close enough to the mainland to see the bombs explode from the civil war, but far away enough to complain about nothing all day.
This thing is so great because it’s not about the hustle and bustle in life – in fact – it’s about the exact opposite and what we do to create problems in our life. Boring men, their beloved pets and their stupid egos and their own weirdness.
Gleason’s character, a musician, says he will chop off one of his own fingers if Colin’s character talks to him again. Well that’s crazy, right? Just don’t talk to the guy! But it’s a small town, there’s only one pub everyone goes to – and is the guy even serious about cutting his own fingers off?
So this one simple thing becomes a big thing and as usual the female in the scenario, Colin’s sister Chevon, played brilliant by Kerry Condon, is the only one making sense in all this mess.
We all know how stupid guys can be in social situations – well on we go and it’s a wonderful set of characters in this very small simple town, set in 1923.
They all have wonderful Irish brogues, the set pieces are fantastic and the film is simple and gripping, just like the Billboards movie.
You feel like you’re part of the town, the acting is great, the dialogue is sharp and clever, it’s the stupidest of ideas, yet we have to navigate around it somehow. When all you got is your friends on a small simple island – the small things become big things.
If you like Ireland, and great smart, whimsical simple movies that grip ya and don’t let go – this movie is a pleasure to watch.
The acting by both lads is tremendous. Paul Gleason is spot on perfect – but it is Colin Farrell that really brings the goods. His transformation of this poor character who only wants to be loved throughout the movie is simple and powerful. It’s a simple plot mind you – but what happens because of it is not. Such a great relief a picture like this is, in the modern era of super heroes and Avatar and who can make water flow smoothly in CGI. They all forgot the human element in movies – something this film has in spades.