The Banshees of Inisherin. M, 114 minutes. Opens Boxing Day. Five stars.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In Celtic folklore, a banshee was a supernatural being whose mournful wailing was a warning to those who heard it that a loved one was about to die.
One of the characters in Martin McDonagh's wonderfully caustic The Banshees of Inisherin muses that perhaps Ireland does actually still have banshees but that people are so awful they've gone silent and just quietly watch the tragedies unfold.
Perhaps they're right, because there's certainly enough awful behaviour in McDonagh's screenplay, which reunites him with the two stars of his 2008 dark comedy In Bruges - Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson.
While the film is about a feud between Farrell's Padraic and Gleeson's Colm, the awful behaviour is spread pretty evenly across the reproachful and insular inhabitants of the remote and windswept island of Inisherin.
Inishein is a fictional island - the lovely Inis Mor and Achill Islands play the picturesque locale - off the coast of Ireland.
It is set in 1923 and the occasional bout of gunfire can be heard from the Mainland as the country's Civil War is under way. Meanwhile, on Inisherin, a breakup of another kind is commencing.
Colm and Padraic have been mates their whole lives. It seems they have walked together to the local pub when the 2pm church bell chimes each afternoon for as long as they've been able to drink to shoot the breeze with Padraic doing most of the talking.
Padraic is a gentle soul, a sweet-natured farmer who loves his animals and keeps up his family farm left behind by his parents, while Colm is a taciturn musician, never far from his violin and like many great artists, prone to fits of depression.
We're given to understand the closeness of these men and their friendship, but as the film opens and Padraic turns up on Colm's doorstep for another journey to the pub, a change has taken place.
While he won't immediately explain why, Colm shuns Padraic.
He doesn't want to drink with him, or interact at all.
On an island of perhaps 50 inhabitants, this doesn't leave Padraic much in the way of company unless you count the simple-minded Dominic (Barry Keoghan), son of the local copper Peadar (Gary Lydon).
READ MORE REVIEWS:
Padraic's sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) eventually gets Colm to spill the beans on this abrupt turn.
Colm feels as though he has wasted his creative energy at the pub drinking with Padraic when he could have been creating music and leaving a legacy in the world.
What's more, he thinks Padraic is boring, with nothing more to say.
Padraic won't take this, and does his best to stay in his friend's life when Colm throws down an horrific threat, launching a blood feud that of course becomes the talk of the small island.
Those who saw and loved In Bruges know that McDonagh writes terrific dialogue.
He provides plenty of brilliant monologues, plenty of laugh out loud moments, for his two lead performers to riff with.
It's so much fun seeing Gleeson and Farrell together again, and there are strong performances from Barry Keoghan - who was successful with an American accent in teen works like 13 Reasons Why - and from Kerry Condon.
The film might almost be considered a horror film, because there are some grisly moments.
But it is also one of the funniest films of the year.
Behind the camera, Ben Davis shoots the glorious greens of the Emerald Isle, and counterpoints it with grim cottage interiors, making the most of the inclement locales.
Beautiful and disturbing, The Banshees of Inisherin is a haunting Christmas present for cinema lovers.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
