The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022) If you're not willing to buy into the main concept of this film, you might as well stay the hell away from it.......otherwise you'll only end up scratching your head, confused and more than little disgusted and repulsed.
With its beautiful, austere landscapes of a supposed remote island off the Irish coast, a viewer might believe they're in for a realistic story.....populated with relatable characters posed against the stunning, but severe, unforgiving scenery.
Sorry....not that kind of movie. 'Ryan's Daughter' it ain't. What we have here is closer to an Irish version of a Grimm's Fairy Tale.....or a 'you-gotta-be-kiddin'-me' fable spun by a drunk on St. Patrick's Day....
If you're willing to dig deeper than that (which means sitting through the film in its entirety) then you might appreciate its final minutes as a sad reflection on the human condition......the constant breakdowns of civility, decency and kindness, leading to everlasting anger, cruelty and pointless violence.
Sounds heavy.....and indeed it is, but while its on its path to that nihilistic climax, the movie's liberally seasoned with laugh out loud humor.....honest. Yes, sometimes it's damn funny......until it's not.
On this quiet, sparsely populated island in 1923 those living there can hear the gunfire and explosions of the Irish civil war raging on the mainland. Padraic, (Colin Farrell) a simple, friendly soul treasures his lifelong friendship with Colm (Brendan Gleeson) a burly old musician-fiddler.
But Colm, afflicted with what he refers to as 'the despair', longs to utterly lose himself in his music and give up all the repetitive, mundane camaraderie with Padraic. Terribly wounding Padraic's feelings, he renounces their friendship, declaring his former friend as too dull....nothing but a roadblock to Colm's desperate embrace of his own creativity.
Confused and hurt beyond all measure, Padraic keeps after Colm for a logical reason to this unfriending.....until Colm finally threatens to cut off his own fingers if Padraic doesn't leave him alone.
Yep, you hear that last part correctly........
And this is the point in the film where you'll either accept this weird, abrupt left turn into semi-horror or roll your eyes and bail out of it altogether......
If you stay, (which I'd recommend), you'll continue to enjoy the master class in acting and dramatic gut-punches provided by Farrell and Gleeson......(as they famously did in "In Bruges"), Together these two, once again a fatalistic, star-crossed Laurel and Hardy, provide equal measures of hilarity, heartbreak and abhorrent acts of cruelty they live to regret.
Also, I don't want to forget mentioning the extraordinary performances of the movie's two primary supporting actors....Kerry Condon as Farrell's sister, a book lover desperate to escape the primitive life of Inisherin and Barry Keoghan as the young village simpleton beaten and abused by his father, the island's brutal constable. (Together, Condon and Keoghan share one of the most touching, heart-rending scenes you'll experience in this or any other movie year....)
And by the time the film arrives at its final scenes, it's clear that the Irish 'troubles' heard from across the ocean, the hatred and the violence, have been replicated on a small scale by these two former friends......(again, you'll either buy into this metaphor or shake your head in disbelief.....)
At the moment, I can't think of any other film that supplies both overpowering bleakness and whimsical banter in equal amounts......which counts as something of an achievement all by itself. And I'd list it as required viewing before you watch the Oscars, since Farrell's performance here makes him the most likely serious contender for Best Actor....(as well as Gleeson for Best Supporting Actor.)
More than worth checkout out, BQ says book a trip to 'Inisherin' before the gold statuettes get handed out.....you now know enough not to be shocked if the film gives you the finger....or fingers...3 & 1/2 stars (***1/2).
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