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| Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell |
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022). Written and directed by Martin McDonagh.
In 1923 on the dreary if beautiful island of Inisherin off the Irish coast, a crisis develops between two long-time friends and drinking buddies. Colm (Brendan Gleeson of Troy) starts shunning Padraic (Colin Farrell of Fright Night) and finally tells him, in essence, that life is too short and Padraic is too dull. Colm wants to concentrate on his music and also wants his former friend to just leave him alone. Padraic has few enough friends as it is, although he has a good relationship with his sister, Siobhan (Kerry Condon). Padriac is also friends, sort of, with young Dominic (Barry Keoghan), who is considered the village idiot but is smarter than he seems. He is not only beaten by his father, the village policeman (Gary Lydon), but possibly molested as well. Things take a dark turn when Colm makes it clear that if Padraic keeps bothering him he will literally cut off his fingers one by one, a vow he intends to keep.
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| Barry Keoghan as the sad Dominic |
Well first let's look at the good things about
Banshees. It is stunningly photographed by Ben Davis, it is extremely well-acted by the entire cast (four of whom were nominated for Oscars), and one has to say that it is certainly
different. It's also generally absorbing, can be quite funny, and has a degree of suspense and fascination, with some interesting characters (most of whom, however, are under-developed). On the debit side, the movie and its situations are kind of unreal, and as the story progresses it perhaps becomes too strange to take seriously. One of the main characters is clearly mentally-unbalanced, but this is barely addressed, even as certain situations are ignored in the medical sense.
Banshees is typical of so many modern movies and TV shows that things happen less because they are realistic but more for shock value. There are good lines and sobering developments but no real resolution. A scene between Colm and a priest at confession is very amusing but again, not at all real. The potshots at the cop, who is admittedly an awful person, also seem more trendy and political than anything else.
Verdict: A slice of life that has interesting elements but in the long run seems a bit phony and contrived. **3/4.
4 comments:
Hi Bill, I liked this one better than you although I agree it was far from realistic. More like an old folk tale...The pacing was very slow and took too long to get jnto the story as well. But I did admire all the performances.
-Chris
The acting could not have been faulted!
It could have had a happier ending. The story could’ve been a little less dark and it could’ve still worked. Maybe it is being set up for a sequel. I totally agree that the acting and cinematography were first rate. There is also some significance in the fact that the Irish civil was of one century ago was always in the background.
Yes, using the war as a backdrop of sorts -- although none of the characters seemed especially affected by it -- was probably meant to be significant in some way, but might be too obscure for the average viewer (including me). I agree with you that this could have worked as a comedy-drama without turning grisly and becoming a bit improbable. A sequel -- the two men still carrying on their endless battle? Might (or might not) be interesting at that!
Thanks for your comments!
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