WEIRD NEW MOVIE: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

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. 

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. 

TROY

Eric Bana as Prince Hector of Troy

TROY (2004). Director: Wolfgang Petersen.

On a mission to establish good relations between Greece and Troy, the Spartan prince Paris (Orlando Bloom) foolishly spirits away King Menelaus' wife, the beautiful Helen (Diane Kruger). Paris' brother, Prince Hector (Eric Bana) is appalled at Paris' actions and fears the worst when they return to Troy. Menelaus (Brendan Gleeson) wants revenge on Helen and Paris while his brother, King Agamemnon (Brian Cox), is more interested in sacking Troy and adding to his power. Although the rather egomaniacal Achilles (Brad Pitt) has little respect or admiration for Agamemnon, he is importuned to join the Spartan forces and eventually engages in one on one combat with Hector. The main difference between the two is that Achilles fights for sheer glory, while Hector fights for king and country. After much bloodshed on both sides, the Greeks come up with an idea for a certain horse ... Inspired by Homer's Iliad, Troy is an exciting war movie that eschews all the fantastic elements of the story (such as the Gods influencing many of the characters behind the scenes) and tries to present it as something historical. [Although 19th century scientists did find evidence of the city of Troy in modern-day Turkey, and it may be true that the Greeks mounted an expedition to, or some kind of assault on, Troy, the story of the Trojan War is mostly mythological.] If you haven't read Homer's Iliad or Edith Hamilton's Mythology since college it may surprise you which elements of David Benioff's screenplay are taken from those sources and which aren't. Whatever the case, Achilles' dull and unconvincing romance with Hector's cousin Briseis (Rose Byrne) serves no useful purpose except to give Brad Pitt a chance to show off his butt. On the other hand, one of the best scenes in the movie is when King Priam (Peter O'Toole) of Troy begs Achilles to give him his son's corpse for proper burial.

As for the acting, this is not Brad Pitt's movie but Eric Bana's. Bana [Deadfall] not only plays the most sympathetic character in the movie, but plays it extremely well, with quiet strength and nobility along with a sex appeal that puts his lover boy brother, Paris (as essayed by the average-looking Bloom) in the shade. Pitt [World War Z] seems wildly miscast at first -- and he's never completely convincing as some great warrior -- but you get used to him and he isn't awful. O'Toole has some excellent moments, as do Cox and Gleeson, while Sean Bean is less effective as Odysseus. Bloom is okay as the unsympathetic jerk-off whose selfish actions both precipitate and, due to his cowardice, prolong the war, but Diane Kruger, although quite pretty, displays little acting ability as Helen. An unintentionally hilarious shot shows Bloom and Kruger watching the burning of Troy and the murdering of its citizens and displaying about as much emotion as a couple watching a commercial for Shake 'n' Bake (one hopes for their sakes that this was a rehearsal shot that accidentally made it into the final cut).  Garrett Hedlund makes an impression as Achilles' young cousin, Patroclus -- many people feel he was not Achilles' cousin, but his lover, and he is not a cousin in The Iliad --  and there are also small roles for Saffron Burrows and Julie Christie as Achilles' mother. James Horner's musical score is surprisingly generic, but he's done so many of these things he can probably compose them in his sleep by now. Wolfgang Petersen also directed Shattered.

This review is based on the Director's Cut of the film, which adds thirty minutes to the running time and probably should't have.

Verdict: Well-produced if imperfect movie is the obvious product of a lot of hard work and good intentions. ***.