Rent The Banshees of Inisherin on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Martin McDonagh
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
Verdict
It's a simple premise that spirals out of control. McDonagh's script is certainly sad, punctuated by moments of humor. We see a character grapple with the end of a friendship, struggling to understand why. This is a rumination on friendship, mortality, and ambition. It's thoughtful and well-written. My predictions were frequently subverted as this never proceeds as I expected. How do you react when someone tells you you're not wanted? It's a difficult situation.
Watch It.
Review
Farrell and Gleeson reunite in another McDonagh movie after In Bruges. That's one of my favorite movies, and I've been following McDonagh's movies ever since.
The scenery is beautiful on this island in Ireland where Pádraic (Colin Farrell) asks his friend if he's going to join him at the pub. With no response from Colm (Brendan Gleeson), the bewildered Pádraic wonders what he did to upset Colm. Everyone he encounters that hears the story asks if they're having a fight. Pádraic becomes desperate to find the answer as to why Colm is acting this way. Colm finally reveals that he just doesn't like Pádraic anymore. That's a difficult pill to swallow. One day they're sitting at the pub, the next day Colm refuses. Of course the obvious follow up is, "Why? What changed?"
 |
| Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson play Pádraic, Colm |
That's the thing. We don't know what happened. Colm states he wants to focus on music and is disinterested in aimless chatter. In life, people drift in and out of our lives just as we drift in and out of other people's lives. It's easier to leave someone behind now, but being a small island in 1923, it's not like they can just avoid each other. Pádraic doesn't have many other options for friendship. He's left wondering if he really is dull as Colm stated. It's a bit of a crisis for Pádraic, and in many movies like this Colm would have some kind of epiphany. We don't see that here. That's what makes us sympathetic to Pádraic.
The writing is certainly sharp. McDonagh's movies manage to be incredibly dark and quite funny in turn. He taps into male friendship and the different dynamic than what we often see portrayed in movies. Pádraic's life is upended. It's no small thing and it begins festering. Being a small place, the comedy comes in how everyone knows everything happening between them so quickly. Pádraic can't escape the questions.
While Colm stated he was serious about being left alone, I didn't realize just how serious he was. This escalates in ways I didn't expect. All of this happens while the Irish civil war occurs on the mainland, a mirror to brother fighting brother.
I wondered if this could be some kind of midlife crisis for Colm. He had wanted to create music and realizes he's done nothing. He speaks about how music is timeless, living long past one's death. Colm doesn't want to upend Pádraic's life, but Colm has to make his own decisions. We could argue that Colm could just fake it, but we've all had friendships or even just events we'd like to escape but don't want to be rude. Pádraic loses his routine and consistency. Colm de-friending him is just the start of changes and loss in Pádraic's life that pushes him to a breaking point. He resolves to burn it all down.
The movie doesn't try to give Colm a reason we understand, and it doesn't need to. This is not about why Colm makes his decision. This is about how Pádraic reacts, and seeing it from only one side forces us to consider the situation and our feelings about it.
No comments :
Post a Comment