“The Banshees of Inisherin” (2022)

The Banshees of Inisherin

Grade: A

The Banshees of Inisherin is a wonderful movie, filled with beautiful yet barren natural scenery, a terrific cast, and an allegorical storyline that is maddening and funny and tragic and supernatural at the same time. One of the best movies of the 2020s.

Directing:

British-born, Irish-raised director Martin McDonagh perfectly captures the spectacular windswept countryside of his fictional Inisherin isle with spare camera movement and sparsely populated settings. This is a film filled with long and lonely walks to the pub and populated with Coen Brothers-influenced dry humor. The world McDonagh creates is breathtakingly scenic but also darkly foreboding, which makes it the perfect setting for his absurdist Beckettian parable.

Acting:

Colin Farrell stars as Pádraic and Brendan Gleeson stars as Colm. Together, they generate one of the most memorable anti-buddy comedies of the decade, nay, all time. The premise is simple: the old, existentialist, art-loving Colm no longer wants to speak to the naïve, nice, optimistic Pádraic simply because he doesn’t like him anymore. The greatness of Farrell’s and Gleeson’s performances are that we sympathize with both characters, even as their relationship further devolves to a chilling point of no return. Meanwhile, Kerry Condon (as Pádraic’s loving and strong-willed sister) and Barry Keoghan (as the island’s charmingly weird little guy) deliver memorable supporting roles.

The Banshees of Inisherin operates like a stage play, and the small ensemble brings this strange tale to life through humor and pathos. There are basically only four characters in the film, and all of them are terrific (appropriate that they were all nominated for Academy Awards). One of the best-acted movies in a long time.

Writing:

McDonagh writes the screenplay for Banshees, and it’s a story seemingly so simple that it basically writes itself. As mentioned, Colm suddenly stops liking Pádraic (apparently they once were the best of friends, but the film picks up past the beginning of their mysterious feud). The plot — or lack thereof — blossoms from there, with Colm going to great lengths to rid himself of Pádraic’s relentless pestering. The Banshees of Inisherin takes place during the end of the Irish Civil War (ca. 1923), which exists primarily in the background off in the distance, and the film’s storyline is a surreal metaphor for the conflict. It’s a wonder how a film built on a premise that is primarily figurative evolves to such a realistically emotional climax.

Music:

Carter Burwell provides the orchestral score, which is chillingly ominous in the same manner as his work for the Coen Brothers (namely A Serious Man and Hail, Caesar!). Most notable is his conscious decision to avoid Irish-influenced music. The soundtrack is then able to emphasize the characters’ changing emotions rather than their static identities, which greatly adds to the intimate experience.

Ending (SPOILERS):

The great, unresolved ending reveals The Banshees of Inisherin to be one of the bleakest films of the 2020s. It’s a fitting conclusion, serving as a metaphor not just for the Irish Civil War, but all conflicts — idyllic is turned ugly; peace is turned hateful; life is turned into death; and there is no solution for any of it. McDonagh’s film is brilliant, and the possible inclusion of an actual banshee at the end adds even more authenticity to the tale.

“I always call her a ghoul, too. Because she is a ghoul. Geez, we have a lot in common, don’t we? Me and you. Calling old people ghouls and that.” – Dominic Kearney

Why The Banshees of Inisherin gets an A

An absurdist modern classic on par with the Coen brothers’ A Serious Man (2010) and Campion’s The Power of the Dog (2020). One of the best films of the 2020s.

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