Movie review: The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

 In Martin McDonagh's black comedy-drama, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell have a darkly hilarious but tragic falling out.

The Banshees of Inisherin, the latest film from In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Epping, Missouri writer-director Martin McDonagh, is one of the best films I've seen this year. Granted, its offbeat, deliberately paced, dark subject will not appeal to everyone, but it is infused with a vein of jet-black humour, as is his previous work. For reasons I'll explain later, I believe it's his most personal film to date.

Civil war rages on the fictional small island of Inisherin, just off the Irish coast, circa 1923. Islanders are perplexed about who is fighting whom and why. When the English were the enemy, things were a lot clearer. In the midst of this close-knit island community, fiddler Colm (Brendan Gleeson) informs his long-time pal Pádraic (Colin Farrell) that he no longer wishes to be associated with him. "I just don't like you any longer," he says, insisting that nothing Pádraic has said or done has prompted such treatment. When pressed further, Colm tells Pádraic he is dull, going on and on about the contents of his donkey's excrement. "It was my pony, which shows how attentive you were," Pádraic responds.

Pádraic, who is kind but simple, cannot understand why Colm is now determined to cut him out of his life. He claims it is to spend time composing because he is concerned about his legacy, but Pádraic does not understand. Siobhán (Kerry Condon), Pádraic's book-loving sister, tries to mediate between the two, but when Colm threatens to cut off one finger every time Pádraic speaks to him until he gets the message, she advises him to leave Colm alone.

This main plot is woven around by a subplot involving troubled, socially awkward local lad Dominic (Barry Keoghan) and his obnoxious, abusive policeman father Peadar Kearney (Gary Lydon). Pádraic's attitude toward Dominic is similar to Colm's. At least Pádraic isn't as stupid as Dominic, his sister tries to console him. But Dominic isn't the island moron everyone thinks he is. Pádraic's perplexity turns to feud, and events begin to take a darker turn, as predicted by the enigmatic Mrs Rearden (Brd N Neachtain); an elderly crone who hovers at the edge of the narrative like a witch, or one of the Fates, or perhaps one of the now silent, observational banshees alluded to by Colm at one point in the story.

The Banshees of Inisherin features excellent performances, assured direction, and breathtaking cinematography by Ben Davis, who makes excellent use of the Aran Islands locations. The landscapes are rugged geological oddities, with cliffs unlike any I've seen before and a strange, labyrinthine network of walls and paths connecting Pádraic's house and the local public house. The film's darker themes, which are (in my opinion) a clear metaphor for the larger conflict on the mainland in microcosm, are complemented by the film's remote, lonely imagery.

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With Carter Burwell's inspired score serving as the icing on a particularly tasty cinematic cake, this is pretty much a must-see for any serious filmgoer, though it isn't for everyone, as it doesn't end with a conventional resolution. The misery of the Irish conflict has a strong contemporary resonance, which leads me to believe that this is McDonagh's most personal work. There is a more pronounced sense of despair at male pride and its far-reaching consequences than in his previous films. The mood is more gloomy. More grave. And, while the dark humour is the spoonful of sugar that helps the medicine go down, the medicine itself is bitter. Nonetheless, this is a superb piece of cinema,The incredible island vistas are best seen on a big screen.