The Banshees of Inisherin

So, just to set my stall early, I am a huge fan of Martin McDonagh. 2017’s Neo-Western Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri was a darkly comedic masterclass is crime cinema; 2012’s Taratino-esque, Hollywood action flick was an imperfect, but brilliant fun showcase for Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken; And 2008’s In Bruges, probably my all time favourite film, is an ever quote-able, Intensely funny, yet acutely heart wrenching masterpiece.

So the prospect of McDonagh reuniting with In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson was immensely exciting to me.

He was getting the band back together, and The Banshees of Inisherin does not disappoint.

It is, however, probably McDonaghs most contained film. Set on a small Island - beautifully shot and realised by Ben Davis -, with a small cast list, and a relatively simple plot, The Banshees of Inisherin relies purely on the depth of the two leads. There are no gun fights here, and you’d be pushed to find one proper psychopath, never mind seven.

Instead, the plot revolves around best friends Colm (Brendan Gleeson) and Pádraic (Colin Farrell). Best friends, that is, until Colm decides that they’re not, telling Pádraic that he’s not to speak to him anymore. And if he does speak to him? Well, If he does Colm will cut off one of his own fingers with a pair of shears, and send it to him.

Much of the film then, centres around Pádraic’s inability to cope with this rejection, and Farrell, able to convey unbelievable levels of emotion with a single raised eyebrow, is brilliant in these moments, shifting slowly, effortlessly, from confusion, to anger, to depression, and then back again. 

Where Pádraic is agitated and jittery, however, Colm remains stoic and singleminded. He has, before the events of the film, made a decision on how he sees his future, and he sticks with it. He is a man that wants to be remembered; Not forgotten. For Colm a conversation seems futile; he has made his decision, and he is going to stick to it, regardless of the impact it will have on the lives of others.

The Banshees of Inisherin has a lot to say about how men deal - or do not deal - with their emotions, and the toxicity it can lead to. Whether it’s the childlike single mindedness of Colm or the slow unravelling of Pádraic, you can’t help but feel that the entire situation would have easily resolved itself if either had had the emotional capacity to sit down and have a conversation. 

The only character who can seemingly see this however is Pádraic’s sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon). Siobhan is possibly the only adult of the piece. The only person looking out at the world, instead of looking into themselves, and therefore the only person who can see anything resembling a bigger picture. 

While those around her fight amongst themselves, she, not without her own problems, and her own feelings of being trapped by the island, looks at how to resolve them. How to improve her lot in life. 

Throughout Martin McDonaghs films, there has always been a theme of good and evil. Very few characters are just one or the other. It is all about percentages. The worst of his characters still have some good in them. Whether its a sense of principle (Such as Harry, from In Bruges), or something as simple as loving their dog (Charlie, Seven Psychopaths), and it is a theme that runs throughout here.

Pádraic, who we are constantly told is dim, but nice, goes to some dark places. And Colm, who is can be seen as cold and cruel to his one-time friend, shows the occasional inclination towards kindness.

It’s percentages. Finding that bit of good in the bad, or that little bit of bad in the good. Refusing to present us with one note caricatures, McDonagh again provides us with fully fleshed out characters that feel real.

That being said, The Banshees of Inisherin does give us what is possibly McDonaghs most deplorable character yet, in Peader Kearney (Gary Lydon), the islands abusive, blood thirsty police officer.

Peader has no redeemable qualities. No redemption arc (a la Dixon, in Three Billboards…). He just gets worse. The worst of what he does we, thankfully, do not see on screen, but it is spoken about, and this is enough. 

The victim of a lot of his most heinous crimes - his son Dominic (Barry Keoghan) - shows another example of what can happen with emotions, and trauma, are pushed down deep. Dominic is seen as the village idiot and, unfortunately, this is how he sees himself. As someone not deserving of anything better. The on surface bravado giving way, all too often, to the fear, and the anxiety, lurking just beneath.

One thing that the majority of key players have in common however, is the lurking sense of despair, and Ben Davis’s cinematography exacerbates this. Shots of bare landscapes and solitary stone buildings further give the impression that the Island is a desolate and lonely place to exist, and the almost omni-present sea lends to the feelings of solitude. They are cut off from the rest of the world, existing in a separate universe, amplifying the solitude that Colm so desire, and Pádraic fears.

It is a film that is beautifully shot, and, like Carter Burwells excellent score, fits the atmosphere of the film perfectly.

You would be forgiven then, at this point, if you thought that The Banshees of Inisherin was to be a bleak affair. And while it is heartbreaking sad, it is also, right from the very start, equally as funny.

While the majority of the best lines are given to Farrell or Keoghan - who is superb in the role -, everyone is given their moment to shine. McDonagh knows how to write a joke, and he knows how to cast a team who can deliver them. Every punchline is meticulously crafted, but instead of feeling clinical, as can often be the case, the ease in which the performers delivers each line makes them feel natural.

While the jokes may drop off slightly, as we enter the films final act, there is more than enough in there to make up for it. 

With The Banshees of Inisherin, Martin McDonagh has delivered once again. It is a near faultless film. From the script, to the cast, to Carter Burwells typically atmospheric score and Ben Davis’ beautiful cinematography, everything about it works. 

For a film where the key plot strand comes from not talking, it will, I can almost guarantee, generate a lot of conversation when awards season come around.