Review: The Banshees of Inisherin!

This film is a reunion of the director Martin McDonagh and film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. They worked together on the famous film 'In Bruges' in 2008, a film that was very popular.

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Background

In Irish folklore, a banshee is the spirit who screams to indicate that a family member will die soon. An old woman (Mrs. McCormack), who reminds us of a banshee, appears quite often in this film, predicting that a family member will die soon.

The film has a rugged landscape as its’ gorgeous backdrop. It was filmed on location on Inishmore and Achill islands.

The Civil war was going on at the time of the story, and bombs were heard exploding and guns being fired from time to time on the mainland. I was waiting for the affairs of the war to be tied into the story, but this did not happen. Maybe it was just a hint to us that the story was a metaphor, but if so, the similarities between the friendship in the film and the war of friends were not very strong.

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The Story

Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) have been friends for a long time but suddenly Colm decides to end that friendship. He has grown tired of their conversation in the pub every night, and wants to spend more time composing and playing music.

Therefore, Colm orders Padraic to stay away from him. But it is not easy to avoid anyone, because there is only one pub on the island, where the locals meet all the time. Colm is a musician, and he takes part in the music sessions that take place regularly in the same pub.

Pádraic is a small farmer who lives with his sister in their late parents' house. Colm was Pádraic's only friend, and they would hang out together every night in the pub. Pádraic is a slow-witted man and he does not properly understand what Colm is saying.

Out of loneliness, Colm begins to spend more time with Dominic (Barry Keoghan), a kid who annoys everyone on the island but they feel sorry for him because his father, the island's policeman, is abusive to everyone, his son included.

When Pádraic sees Colm chatting with Dominic in the pub, he is not happy and tries to be friendly with him. Colm becomes cross and threatens that if Pádraic doesn't leave him alone, he will cut off one finger on his left hand every time Pádraic talks to him.

No one knows if he's joking or not, and I'm not going to tell you now what happens after that in the movie in case it would spoil the story!

  

Direction and Cinematography

Martin McDonagh is a first class director, a man at the top of his game, and this film shows how good he is at his craft. McDonagh found the right balance between comedy and tragedy, and opened the door slightly between true story and fantasy, between friendship and enmity, between love and hatred. McDonough emphasizes the main characters and shows us their characteristics, not only with dialogue but especially with their facial expressions.

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Acting

Farrell and Gleeson gave us an excellent performance, and it is unlikely that any other actors would be as powerful as they are in the roles of Pádraic and Colm, and they triumphed in this film. Siobhan (Kerry Condon) is also great in her role as Pádraic's sister, a very intelligent person who stayed at home to look after her brother.

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Conclusion

After seeing the movie, I was kind of uneasy. The film did not have a proper closure, as there were some unanswered questions. I think it would be more difficult for non-Irish people to understand the plot, without knowing the historical context in Ireland at the time. Be that as it may, there is much in the film that is outstanding – the acting, the wild scenes and the cinematography included.

The influence of the director Quentin Tarantino is clearly visible, in my opinion, with the interplay between the gratuitous violence and the burning humor. Although I'm not overly impressed with that genre - it's kind of avant-garde, if you like that genre, you'll enjoy the film. Otherwise, don't bother!

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