TMS Movie Review: The Banshees of Inisherin
(Jonathan Hession / Searchlight Pictures)
Two decades ago, Hollywood tried to make Irish actor Colin Farrell into the next big movie star a la Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. This was obvious right off the bat with the mediocre western that is Les Mayfield’s American Outlaws (2001), where we could see Farrell’s talent, charm and good looks on display for superstar potential. But now, twenty years later, it turns out he is much more interesting as a character actor than traditional leading man [though he’s completely appropriate in that role as well]. Farrell’s latest feature and third collaboration with writer-director Martin McDonagh is The Banshees of Inisherin, co-starring Brendan Gleeson, who also worked with Farrell and McDonagh on the cult classic In Bruges (2008). The trailer for Banshees would make you think the period piece is just as hilarious as the trio’s previous hit, but in actuality, it’s pretty grounded in comparison.
Set on an Irish island called Inisherin during the Irish Civil War, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell) lives a simple life with his sister, Siobhán (Kerry Condon) where they tend to their farm animals. Both are content living their lives ordinarily, until one day Pádraic’s world comes to a halt. His closest friend, Colm Doherty (Gleeson) suddenly wants nothing to do with him for some inexplicit reason. Determined to figure out what he’s done to offend Colm, Pádraic is also dodging local nuisances: youthful Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan) and elderly Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton).
(Jonathan Hession / Searchlight Pictures)
The title, The Banshees of Inisherin, refers to one of Colm’s personally written music pieces, as he prefers to focus on art and music rather than the mundaneness of everyday life on the island. The first forty minutes or so of McDonagh’s picture are incredibly Irish and seemingly much ado about nothing at all. Imagine a “Seinfeld” episode with amazing cinematography and in 1923 Ireland. This lines perfectly with McDonagh’s usual sense of humor of mixing irrelevant behavior with serious subjects. But the last half hour takes a rather dark turn regarding Gleeson’s and Keoghan’s characters, which is also on brand of the filmmaker. Farrell proves yet again that he stands out the most in modest, small budget dramedies, compared to earlier this year where we got a completely different performance from Farrell as an Al Capone-esque Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman. Gleeson and Keoghan are great like usual in Banshees, and it’s nice to see Farrell back home in Ireland. But I was most drawn to Condon of the cast, who I wasn’t familiar with before viewing the film, and am interested in seeing more of her acting.
Though there is a lot to admire about Banshees of Inisherin, my one problem throughout the movie is I just don’t get why Pádraic is friends with Colm in the first place. We get the sense Pádraic is an average man with no specific interests or complaints, so his standards aren’t particularly high. But why would he want to be best friends with such an unpleasant snob is a bit perplexing. If you’re a fan of Farrell or anyone else in the cast or want to experience some genuine Irish culture and aesthetics on the big screen, The Banshees of Inisherin might still be worth a viewing though.