Miss Flicks

The Banshees of Inisherin: LFF Film Review

I love In Bruges so I was thrilled by the prospect of Martin McDonagh reuniting with his stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson once again for The Banshees of Inisherin.

Every day, best friends Padraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) go for a pint down the pub at 2pm. However, on this particular day, Colm isn’t interested in their tradition. In fact, he doesn’t want to hang out with Padraic ever again. Turns out Colm doesn’t want to be friends with – or even speak to – Padriac anymore. Naturally, Padraic is hurt by this. They live on a tiny island off the coast of Ireland and there are not many other options for friendship.

I always love McDonagh’s writing and enjoy absorbing his hilarious and well-observed dialogue. I will be amazed if he doesn’t get a Best Original Screenplay nomination for this movie, even though it’s not as funny as In Bruges or Three Billboards. If you’ve seen his earlier work, you’ll know that his comedy is dark but Banshees goes way darker than I expected. I hadn’t watched the trailer and knew very little about it so I was quite shocked by how extreme and alarming their fallout becomes.

The film is set in 1923 against the backdrop of the Irish Civil War, which they can hear from their island. McDonagh doesn’t make reference to it that often but you can easily draw parallels between that and Padraic and Colm’s fight – it shows how a conflict can escalate and do a lot of damage.

Farrell won the Best Actor prize for his performance in Venice and it’s clear to see why. His Padraic is so lost, hurt and wounded – he’s just a simple man who likes his daily pint with his pal and doesn’t know what to do with himself without his routine and companionship. Gleeson is gruff, grumpy and cold and radiates “leave me alone” energy. Kerry Condon also deserves praise as Padraic’s forthright sister Siobhan and Barry Keoghan is outstanding as the dim-witted Dominic. Also, the best animal in an LFF movie this year goes to Jenny the Donkey.

The Banshees of Inisherin tells a poignant, but a very dark, story about a friendship breakup and boasts beautiful cinematography, an impressive score from Carter Burwell and top performances all around. I’m such a fan of McDonagh’s work that my hopes were super high and I came away slightly underwhelmed because it didn’t make me laugh that often or really hit me in the emotions.

Seen as part of the London Film Festival. In cinemas from Friday 21st October