The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin

Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.

  • Released:
  • Runtime: 114 minutes
  • Genre: Comedy, Drama
  • Stars: Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Pat Shortt, Gary Lydon, Sheila Flitton, Jon Kenny, David Pearse, Bríd Ní Neachtain
  • Director: Martin McDonagh
 Comments
  • peterkettle-904-444717 - 25 May 2024
    It's all in the mind.
    The Banshees of Innisherin takes us into areas that touch on our mortality. Superb acting from Gleeson and Farrell. I love and rate this film hugely; I have watched it three times. It is a wrist slasher with a wide range. Dare I say it is Shakespearean? McDonagh takes us to the edge of the shore and then simply leaves us there. A comedy drama is what it is billed to be. But it is much more. Profound and moving, it is about our unknown inner selves, dark to light. I rate all the actors here. Colin Farrell has done nothing better and Brendan Gleeson should have got a gong or two. And the great Kerry Condon, so superb as Farrell's sister, and a complete contrast to her tough gangster In The Land Of Saints and Sinners. She was also in Mcdonagh's brilliant Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Barry Keoghan very good indeed with a character that could merely be performed as a caricature; here he suggests multitudes. The film has lyrical moments and true horrors and some beautiful music. It dares to leave the audience with unexplained mysteries. Just as Samuel Beckett and Shakespeare often do.
  • sublimineyes - 23 March 2024
    Wonderful first half. Self indulgent, far too Irish, mess of a second half.
    This started so well. Refreshingly different, visuals and sounds top notch, acting solid (Farrell as usual rather lightweight and 2D but for large parts gets the job done).

    It built nicely, paced well, got its hook planted and drew me in.

    And Barry Keoghan's performance is world class, with Kerry Condon's very strong.

    I was thinking at least an 8 star, maybe a 9.

    But those in charge got too full of themselves, became self indulgent, partook of the myth of Irish uniqueness, and opted for entirely predictable plot lines, turning it into both a dull and tedious affair. At least the visuals and sounds stay the course.

    Such a shame.

    Would also have been better to go with the stronger actor by making Gleeson the more talkative, Farrell the quieter. Farrell could then have used his eyebrows to better effect.

    Anyway, I've gone down the middle. Sort of. 8 or 9 for the first half plus, 2 for the last half.
  • m-abtahi - 28 January 2024
    A Cinematic Tale of Tragic Bonds
    I recently watched the distinctive cinematic film "The Banshees of Inisherin." The movie revolves around the peculiar relationship of two male friends. When one of them decides to prioritize his career in the music industry over their friendship, a series of strange, poignant, and damaging events unfold.

    The storyline takes a tragic turn as the consequences of the decision reverberate through their lives. The film explores the intricacies of human connections and the profound impact of choices on relationships. The characters navigate through the complexities of friendship, ambition, and the harsh realities of pursuing one's passion.

    Set against the backdrop of personal and professional aspirations, the movie captures the essence of human emotions and the unpredictable nature of life. The year 2022 witnessed the release of this thought-provoking film that skillfully combines tragedy with a unique narrative.
  • jvetyska-83883 - 12 January 2023
    Boring and pointless pile of madness.
    I can't actually belive I sat through the whole thing.

    Took two days, I really didn't want to watch the second half, but did it thinking there was something more to it. Nope.

    Just a simple portrait of bored and desperate people on the island. There is no depth to the story nor to any of the characters. Just go do a little bit of work and go drink and share few lines with others. That's their daily life.

    Counter to what the description says, it's not a comedy by a long shot. Nothing funny, just dumb, really dumb. And, also as it says it gets more and more crazy, it doesn't. Nothing worth my or anyone's time.

    Save your life and enjoy actual comedy or actual drama!
  • CommeVousNousEtions - 11 January 2023
    Compelled to review
    Anybody who is a musician do not watch this. It will make your stomach churn. To take away the thing you love in life so callously and pointlessly makes me sick to the pit of my stomach. It'll take some time to wash away the bitter taste.

    At first it is watchable and there are some occasional funny bits but it aimlessly descends into shock value and despair.

    And to what end you might ask? There is no end, none whatsoever, nothing a punch in the face would not have achieved with much less fanfare, and we know this character doesn't mind dishing out a box.

    The moral of this story? That which is so dullest I shalt make dull of my life to match thous dullness.

    I really don't know, make it up, there is no story here.

    I've noticed a trend with this directors films having no payoff, same again here. There is no emotional attachment to any character. As many more have said there is no resolution. Wish I had stuck to my guns and not watched this, my gut instinct of the trailer was spot on.

    Lastly, the scene with the dim chap declaring his love was utter cringe, as I watched I declared it should have been cut. It was ridiculous and the payoff from it was utterly pointless.
  • rtsdynamite - 9 January 2023
    Isolation encapsulation
    The Banshees of Inisherin is an intriguing watch despite the lack and scale of events. The events that do occur throughout are merely social ones, which is no surprise following the isolated setting adding more weight to characters choices and opinions.

    The moment in which intrigue begins is when Colm (Brendan Gleeson) ends his friendship with Padraic (Colin Farrell). The film follows Padraic who's core interest is behind wanting to understand this decision. As the film moves forward this becomes partly an open ended choice for the viewer. Whom decides who really was at fault. As you lean in to the themes however, you will discover that there is more to Colm's sudden turn in attitude. The themes explored and their ties to the narrative are very interesting and dealt with immaculately.

    Sadly, I believe the film misses out on character building prior to Colm's epitome. It is hard to imagine this character any other way than displayed in the film, which is described to be much different compared to his older self. That, as well as the damming tone of the film serve as imperfections. It is not the most enjoyable watch and its comedy is witty at times but lacks control over scenes. This is likely the intention as comes with the design of dark humour but i was expecting a comedy listed film to have brighter moments. Having that said, despite being an enjoyer of dark humour, i hardly found myself creasing the ends of my mouth.

    A great encapsulation of isolation but not for the lighthearted.
  • meckstut - 7 January 2023
    A Movie Only a Critic Can Like
    Whoever called this a "dark comedy" needs a recalibration -- this isn't any kind of comedy, it's not even dark, it is just depressing. Yes, the scenery is gorgeous and you get a real feel for the time and place but that is it, otherwise, it is very hard to watch. This just seemed like a random 1 or 2 weeks in the life of these characters but there was no context, no backstory, I guess the movie is trying to say something about life and relationships (presumably more than just the obvious), but I just didn't didn't see it. No comparison at all to In Bruges or 3 Billboards, both of which were had much more developed story lines and characters (and both in my mind, were more like dark comedies).
  • christophergratz - 6 January 2023
    Martin McDonagh did it again
    This film is a masterpiece.

    But why?

    First of all, of course, you have to mention the cinematic aspects. The camera shots of the landscape of the Irish village, the incredibly good acting performances, especially by Colin Farell and Brendan Gleeson (what else could you expect), but also the supporting roles. Barry Keoghan, who plays the role of Dominic Kearney, an insecure, naïve character broken by his environment, is particularly noteworthy.

    But all this was to be expected in a film by Martin McDonagh anyway.

    What makes the film so powerful, however, is the unique story and the messages that are so suptily and creatively delivered. Of course, it's about friendship. And the meaning that friendship and the loss of friendship can do to you. But this is only the surface and serves as the basic structure to drive the story forward. Rather more, the story is about what the isolation from the outside world is doing with the character of a human being. A small village, isolated from the outside world. Each citizen is marked by loneliness and by the lack of human relationships and diversity. What happens to a person when he is "trapped" in his wasteland all his life without any prospect of love, variety, events. I do not want to reveal too much. But when the only person in the village who still has the desire and openness to the world in her, leaves the village, everything collapses. The people are broken and this is so subtly and incidentally communicated by Martin McDonagh. Be it through the big emotional importance that animals play ( hints of bestiality, the donkey's name is Jenny,...), incredibly funny dialogues and characters that are on the verge of complete madness (the old woman, is she a clairvoyant, a witch or just gone mad?).

    The great thing about the film is that it has so many interpretations and makes you think, while, by the way, is incredibly funny. It is a must see for everyone who wants to witness a more than clever and funny movie!
  • josephlyons-08721 - 5 January 2023
    Storytelling
    Watching this made me understand something that the film Shame taught me. The undercurrent of all interaction has history. There is a life before what we are shown. We know from what we are told but not anything more than what isn't. I hope to make something with as much conflict without conflict. I used to think you were the nicest of them... well there goes that dream. It makes sense to be communicated to in the extreme. Is it as much about the performance, the direction or the writing. What is most important. We were doing so well. Can we make something that hurts so much for different reasons. Talk to me, she hopes we'll talk. Will we talk? Can we make sense of this. Do you see me?
  • m-36130-05801 - 4 January 2023
    'Irishness is for other people'
    Watching 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' being performed on stage in writer Martin McDonagh's home city of London's West End a few decades ago was stirring enough. I and two friends had seats in the second row, just out of range of the occasional splatters of fake blood from the stage, which were reaching those in front of us. A good few walked out of what they must have presumed would be a titillating Oirish play. Instead, they got J. B. Keane crossed with Tarantino. That approach - folky scene employed as Trojan Horse - has been a common enough formula: Flann O'Brien set the precedent, Shane McGowan had a touch of it, the Father Ted series played with same. McDonagh's film The Banshees of Inisherin loses that power, partly as an insightful nephew (and filmmaking undergraduate in Dublin) says, because it still feels like a stage-play. But it isn't a stage play. Thinking out loud, realistic amputated fingers being thrown into the audience could have done the trick, like something from Joe Dante's movie Matinee or to have expected in the famous all-night Scala Cinema, Kings Cross back in the 1980s.

    What interested me about the film, whether McDonagh intended it or not, were all the allusions to social media. In the 1960s many had misunderstood media theorist Marshall McLuhan's use of the phrase Global Village. In fact, it was meant as stark warning. Whilst village life (of the past) had its charms, and involved mutually supporting networks, normalised sharing, open doors; the reality also meant everyone knowing your business, the imposition of a uniform oppressive morality, collusion and covering-up of horror, and various forms of entrapment. Lars von Trier's Dogville hits the mark in portraying small town niceness masking pure evil. Each platform is different to the next - arguably Twitter was/is too hostile a place and Instagram is sickeningly 'nice' - but the social media landscape which emerged two decades ago has many village characteristics. Long in advance of the internet, that is what McLuhan was hinting at. If it was hard to leave communal village communities, then detaching from social media platforms is as trying. Pubs, bars, shebeens and cafés preceded online communities; people are not only addicted to alcohol, caffeine and to social media, but to socialising itself, to conversation and to each other, in ways which can be pleasing but also - overused term alert - toxic. McDonagh's play/film unpacks the question of Likes and Liking in amusing ways, illustrating how things can get out of hand. That is surely a referencing of today's new-media world where adults behave like 'twelve-year olds', bitter disputes unfold, and even the fact, that dexterity with fingers is a vital aspect of smart-screen and device use, appears linked. And a sick joke I heard once seems pertinent. What have online chat rooms and confession got in common? Both involve talking secretly with someone you can't see who is probably a paedophile.

    McDonagh goes to great trouble to signify that the bucolic historical scene is exaggeration. He throws everything in: the Virgin Mary statue, one of those household Jesus pictures, a Celtic cross, priest, policeman, there's the perfectly twee clothing, an uncanny lack of rain, and highly saturated imagery adds to the effect. The intended irony seemed lost on the cinema audience I was part of (not in Ireland): a lot of people were laughing at perfectly ordinary turns of phrase, but not at other, presumably meant-to-be funny, aspects of the film. The dog licking Colm's wound made perfect sense in my mind because of the purported healing effects of same but amused many there.

    Though language use is hammed up in McDonagh's signature style, interestingly other terminology slips in: today's fixation on depression is given attention. There is a lot more going on in this McDonagh flick, for example a reactionary message about the inevitably of conflict, including civil war, hinting at a pointlessness in revolutions. Women seem capable of rising above all this, observing, escaping the madness but are idealised. The relationship with animals, the attempt to tease out tensions between cultural drives and the apparent artistic mindset versus everyday pressures, low versus high culture - eating with your mouth closed is associated with being French, use of the word 'yet', English etc. - the significance of the island as metaphor (a platform?), nostalgia for war, belief versus nihilistic attitudes, the concern with stupidity and being a gom versus cultured, interesting, intelligent all deserve attention maybe.

    The storytelling may be seductive but I'm so tired of these kinds of overall framing. Others must be too. The intended irony is easily lost on many, as stated. Irish directors like Leonard Abrahamson have been doing more interesting things. McDonagh ends up exploiting too much of what artist and filmmaker Mick Holly calls 'the notion of "Irishness" as fictitious unity developed for profitable export', and ' the tourist industry's production and management of Irish fantasy'