The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Summary: It is 1923 during the closing stages of the Irish civil war, and life goes on on the fictional Irish island of Inisherin. Pádraic lives with his sister Siobhán  in a small cottage. He has a couple of cows from which he sells the milk and a pet donkey. He and Colm have been lifelong friends who have drunk regularly in the local pub, but suddenly Colm decides that the friendship is terminated because he wants to be creative.  Pádraic does not accept this and so constantly attempts to revive their relationship. Finally Colm says that if he ever speaks to him again he will cut off one of his own fingers. Meanwhile Pádraic drinks with Dominic the slightly simple son of the local Garda, and supports him when the father beats him. Encouraged by some interchange Pádraic attempts to talk to Colm again with disastrous results.

Content: There is one scene where the Garda is sitting naked in his chair, with his hat on. Frequent scenes of people consuming pints of Guinness in the local pub. Pádraic associates with his donkey which he allows into the house. His sister attempts to defuse the antagonism between the former friends. Pádraic visits Colm’s isolated house by the beach frequently. He drives his pony and trap to the town with the milk. Explosions are seen on the mainland where the war is taking place. Pádraic also drinks with Dominic who seems to have a simple view of life, and when beaten by his father is taken in by the brother and sister.

A View: There are some films which are bound to be successful, and this is one. It has the combination of a revered playwright and director back in his native soil, with two actual film stars, also back in the country of their birth, and every one does a great job. Some have said that the film is an allegory of the Irish civil war, which could maybe be said to be an event of self harm. I found that I was disoriented by the topography.  Pádraic’s cottage, Colm’s house, the pub and the village are actually all in different places and to me it shows. So when Pádraic is driving his cows, or riding the cart I wonder where the hell he is going. On the other hand I really liked the constant use of the word “nice”, often avoided by writers. All, in all I preferred any of Martin McDonagh’s previous outings.

The one other Martin McDonagh film reviewed on this site was Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri