It’s been a minute since I had any time to review anything here. Since I last posted, the full Oscars shortlist was announced, meaning – of course – that I had to start getting caught up with the nominees. Some (like Everything Everywhere All At Once, Turning Red and Elvis) I’ve already seen, but there’s a slew of films I’ve not yet seen this year and it might prove challenging to get to them all. However, The Banshees of Inisherin has been hyped so much by critics and received a whopping 9 nominations this year, so what better place to start?
Let’s begin by stating that I actually went into this completely blind. All I knew (and this is truly the full extent of my knowledge) was that it was set in Ireland and Colin Farrell made an appearance. Really, I didn’t even know he was the main character.
Now I know the full plot, I’m not going to do it any favours by summarising it here. The short and sweet of it is that The Banshees of Inisherin is a movie about two friends who have a falling out. Genuinely, that’s it. Beneath the surface however, there’s so much more going on, and spoiling it for you here would do it a huge disservice.
I’ll summarise my thoughts for you with one simple sentence: holy crap, what a feckin’ brilliant little film.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect with The Banshees of Inisherin. Yes, there’s a lot of hype floating around as I mentioned, but then again, there was also a lot of hype for Belfast last year. (Sorry if comparing the two is a little bit sacrilegious; I do know Belfast is in Northern Ireland and not Ireland, so you’ll just have to forgive me). However with this, I went in completely oblivously and could not believe how much I enjoyed this movie in the end.
Remember, on the surface, the plot is pretty thin. Delve a little deeper though and you’ll find that the whole thing is very much a metaphor for loneliness and the undying need for human connection. What Martin McDonagh does phenomenally well though? He makes it funny. You’d think that with such a pensive, heartfelt and often serious subject matter, humour would have no place here, but the script is so cleverly written that it is bordering on perfect. I’d really love to see this win Best Original Screenplay above all else (although I’ll re-think that assessment by the time I’ve seen all the nominees, I’m sure). The only thing I was not a fan of was how quickly they ended Barry Keoghan’s storyline; Barry’s Dominic becomes quite integral to the plot but ends up being cast aside with a little too much frivolity for my liking.
Of course, none of this would work at all without some inspired acting performances. Colin Farrell leads the pack in a type of role that he’s not really known for, but he delivers his lines with such honesty and sympathy for his character that he’s a joy to watch. Farrell and Barry Keoghan are easily the standouts here, although I must give Kerry Condon a shout out as pretty much the only female cast member. She is excellent as the voice of reason and I’d love to see her in more movies as soon as possible.
Overall, it is a tad long in places, and the thinly-veiled comparisons to the civil war are a little bit on the nose in comparison to the rest of the film’s subtlety. Other than that, this is a piece of phenomenal filmmaking both emotionally and visually, sitting right up there with Three Billboards as McDonagh’s crowning achievements.
The Banshees of Inisherin is currently available to stream on Disney+ in the UK.
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Overall Enjoyability Rating: ½
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