Recently, a new film by Irish director Martin McDonagh was released on digital services. First of all, the film was presented at the Venice Film Festival, where it received high praise from the public. In the review below, we consider why this story was successful and what it says to the viewer.

“The Banshees of Inisherin” / The Banshees of Inisherin

Genre tragicomedy
Director Martin McDonough
In roles Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Gary Lydon
Premiere digital services
Graduation year 2022
Site IMDb

Inishreen Island, Ireland. According to the main character Padraik’s calendar, April 1923 began. Padraic usually heads to his best mate Colm Doherty’s after lunch to talk about this, that, over a pint of dark ale at the local bar. So it was on this seemingly unremarkable day, but Colm suddenly began to ignore his old friend and refuse to speak to him.

When the men do meet in a pub, Colm declares that he wants nothing more to do with Padraic and promises to cut off his fingers if he doesn’t stop harassing him. To the question “what is the reason?” Colm replies that he does not want to waste precious time and wants to devote himself to playing the violin. The name for the new piece of music is already ready – “Banshee Inisherina”. Thus, a confused Padraic must somehow come to terms with the fact that his friendship with Colm has come to an end.

Apparently, one has to be a playwright of the level of Martin McDonagh to play out an absurd, equally powerful tragicomedy from such a frankly childish plot. Until a certain time, what is not dialogue here is wit, which gives a reason to laugh, although the characters are mostly talking about something sad or serious.

At one time, McDonough wrote the Aran Islands trilogy, and the story on Inishira was conceived as the final play. But the work was not destined to see the world, because the author himself rejected the material. For the film, he apparently wrote a separate script, and Inishir turned into the fictional Inisherin. Nevertheless, a kind of theatricality is still felt in the local film space.

But instead, Banshee Inisherina looks very cinematic. Ben Davies’s camera does not skimp on the picturesque Irish landscapes, and when the attention needs to be focused on some acting emotions, it allows the viewer to fully enjoy them. Perhaps no actor in the world has ever been nominated for a Golden Globe for the outstanding eyebrow performance given by Colin Farrell. By the way, the film has 8 nominations for this award, including in the “Best Film – Comedy or Musical” category.

It was nice to see the wonderful Farrell-Gleeson duo in the frame after their participation in McDonagh’s full-length debut “Lie Down in Bruges”. Here, the director, however, abandons the criminal motives of the Gayrichov gang and offers a completely different narrative. “Banshee” is more easily confused with “Calvary”, directed by Martin’s older brother, John Michael McDonough, than with any of the three previous works of the famous Irishman.

While somewhere over there, in the background, the sounds of explosions from cannons rumble from time to time, a battle of its own is unfolding on Inisherin. It can be compared to the Irish Civil War. Each of the sides will conduct its own tactics, which, as you know, are of the most important importance in combat operations. But the local heroes, in fact, are angry at what is happening on the mainland. And the fewer fingers remain on Brendan Gleason’s hand, the more the conflict between former friends will intensify.

Since the events are unfolding in a godforsaken place, where, apart from drinking and endlessly contemplating the peaceful majesty of the Atlantic Ocean, there is nothing to do, it will be extremely difficult for Farrell’s character to come to terms with the new state of affairs. He is a simple shepherd, an ordinary good-natured villager who does not burden himself with questions about the eternal. But Colm, on the contrary, reflects and tries to leave something behind, realizing that the main part of life is behind him.

That is, “Banshee” turns out to be not only a witty black comedy, but also a strong drama about friendship, loneliness, doom, as well as about the sacrifices an artist must make for his life’s work. The quality of the slow narrative that McDonagh offers is seen in the fact that the author managed to harmoniously combine comedy and drama. However, in the second half, the film loses a bit of its comedic fervor and focuses on drama.

Excellent acting performances also work for the overall result. And if everything is clear with Farrell and Gleeson, they are masters, then we should also mention the excellent role of Barry Keogan. The young actor plays a village fool and once again proves his high professionalism. In addition, after the wonderful “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” by Yorgos Lanthimos, he is not used to interacting in the frame with Colin Farrell.

All in all, “Banshee Inisherina” seems like an endlessly fun and sad movie at the same time. It is a thoughtful existential drama that shows a certain side of the human essence in all its beauty. Or, rather, ugliness. And there is also a terrible grandmother, who is clearly associated with those mythical banshees and inspires terror in those around her, foreshadowing imminent death. However, she might as well not have crucified herself, because everyone dies sooner or later, right?

Pros:
beautiful production and script, outstanding acting, a competent combination of comedy and drama, an exciting story that is based on a trivial plot, but develops interestingly, good music, wonderful Irish scenery

Cons:
the story did not have enough emotionality, which could shake the viewer and take him out of his comfort zone. Everything happens stably quietly, calmly, without haste. Sometimes this does not benefit the narrative

Conclusion:
“Inisherin’s Banshee” can hardly be called an indisputable masterpiece for all time. But this is a prime example of great drama on paper and its sumptuous embodiment on screen