Review - The Banshees of Inisherin

Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Written by: Martin McDonaugh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon & Barry Keoghan
Running Time: 114 minutes
Rating: 4/5

Everything was fine yesterday.

Is life simple? Do we need an explanation for everything? If we do, would the simple, easy answer always be the right answer? In Martin McDonagh’s morality fable, The Banshees of Inisherin - the answer is yes. Sometimes we don’t need anymore than the simple answer. Sometimes we don’t really need to explain ourselves. It’s that simple. 

Set in a small island off the coast of Ireland in the midst of the 1920s, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) walks over to Colm Doherty’s (Brendan Gleeson) house, ready for their routine afternoon pint at the villages’ sole pub. He knocks on the window and sees Colm sitting there, smoking, but clearly ignoring him. Pádraic, arguably dim, but very sweet, waits for his best friend at the pub, pints in hand. It is at that moment, Colm tells him - “I don’t like you anymore,” to Pádraic’s brokenhearted confusion, shock and awe. As word spreads across the village,  Pádraic grows increasingly agitated at how his best friend could just decide to stop liking him. There MUST be a reason, right? 

The following days result in a jab-for-jab unraveling of both mens psyche, personal relationships and even full-blown existential crises. Pádraic’s absolute kind and good willed nature is put to the test against Colm’s brute and intimidating demeanor. The rivalry evolves from small hearsay to a must-watch pay-per-view heavyweight match on the small isle of Inisherin. They say ghosts and banshees once walked the mists of the isle; spitting fables and curses upon men astray - it is almost as if they have returned to the land in which they had been banished from, to curse the two warring friends in those around them. 

“The Banshees of Inisherin is a swashbucklin’ lightning-in-a-bottle; an overcrowded pub in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day; a masterpiece of a screenplay - McDonagh downs the spit-fire wit and dialogue like Guinness Pints.”

Martin McDonagh has written and directed the sharpest and most hilarious screenplay in his career. The theater erupted in belly-laughs and cackles, hoots and hollers and rapturous applause over a multitude of absolute spit-fire dialogue exchanges. Witty, clever and extremely faced paced; the characters washed ashore on this island have more humanity and full fledged character arcs in its swift runtime.  His most beautifully shot film yet, McDonagh sweeps across the rocky landscape of Inisherin, the coastal views and crashing waves encapsulate the warring battle of the men in the village. Farrell is at the top of his game, the way Pádraic lumps himself around the island, the way his feet and frown add fifty pound weights to his nature, the way his words jumble into nonsensical nonsense; Farrell is unbelievably honest in Pádraic’s dimwitted nature. We’ve all been a Pádraic before - the way we mourn over a lost friend but also proudly hold it above our shoulders - you know, the way we can do better. Gleeson is magnificent as a foil to Farrell; steadfast, headstrong and overly confident. Kerry Condon as Siobhan, Pádraic’s sister, is a shining light, the hope and the voice of reason that seeks solace between the two feuding men. Barry Keoghan is hilarious as Dominic, the outcast yearning for a place and family of his own. 

Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin is a majestic triumph; a tale of two men who yearn to live a simple life, though they well know, life is not as simple as they would have it. A riptide of collective wit, hilarious banter and clever twists and turns, the cinema turns into the wail of the banshee, cackling at the tragic comedy that have befallen Pádraic and Colm. Colin Farrell, a loser with a heart-of-gold, shines through the darkness, a man infallible in his drive and soul, determined to be at peace among the isle of Inisherin. The Banshees of Inisherin is a swashbucklin’ lightning-in-a-bottle; an overcrowded pub in Dublin on St. Patrick’s Day; a masterpiece of a screenplay - McDonagh downs the spit-fire wit and dialogue like Guinness Pints; the film will have you clamoring for more in this hilarious, uplifting morality fable with an Oscar-worthy performance by Colin Farrell. 

A feckin’ good time.