By: Andrew Wing

The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 black tragicomedy film written and directed by Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). The film stars Colin Farrell (The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer) in the lead role, while Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter films, Paddington 2), Kerry Condon (Better Call Saul, Ray Donovan), and Barry Keoghan (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Eternals) also star in supporting roles. It reunites Farrell and Gleeson, who previously worked together on McDonagh's directorial debut In Bruges back in 2008.

The film follows two lifelong friends (Farrell and Gleeson) who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, which leads to alarming consequences for both of them.

The Banshees of Inisherin had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2022, where Farrell won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and McDonagh won the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay. It was theatrically released in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States on October 21, 2022, by Searchlight Pictures. It was named one of the best films of 2022 by the National Board of Review.

THE GOOD

Going into 2022, The Banshees of Inisherin was at the very top of my most anticipated list. The reason is Martin McDonagh. For those who don’t know, Martin McDonagh is a British-Irish playwright who is hands down one of the most impressive writer-directors we have making movies today. As said in the introduction, his feature film was In Bruges, and he followed that up with the highly underrated Seven Psychopaths, before almost winning Best Picture in 2018 for his 2017 crime drama Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri which is just brilliant if you ask me. And with The Banshees of Inisherin, he was getting back together with the two stars from In Bruges in Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson so I just could not wait to see this on the big screen the first chance I got. Well, I got the chance to see it alright, but was it as good as I had hoped? Keep reading to find out!

No, it wasn’t. It was better! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this is Martin McDonagh’s best work. The man just understands the black comedy genre better than anyone else. The script is flawless and it is just such a funny movie. The premise is so simple really, it’s about one friend basically unfriending the other friend out of nowhere, but I was just blown away by it. Because of how simple the film’s premise was, we were able to see how far these characters are willing to go, and we also actually come to understand why both characters are doing what they are doing. At the end of the day, the movie is just perfectly directed and McDonagh is worthy of a Best Director nomination. More than that, as already said, this original screenplay is just a masterpiece and in my opinion, it’s between McDonagh and Todd Field for TÁR (see my full review here) for Best Original Screenplay.

But now onto these amazing performances we got, and I have to start with one of my favorite actors who just killed it here, and that’s Colin Farrell. First things first, Colin Farrell is having himself one hell of a 2022. He was in the A24 drama After Yang (see my full review here), earlier this year where he gave a great dramatic performance that I felt didn’t get enough attention. He was also in one of the biggest movies of the year in The Batman (see Ted’s full review here), as he was totally unrecognizable as Oswald "Oz" Cobblepot / Penguin. That said, he gives his best performance of not only the year but of his illustrious career in The Banshees of Inisherin.

Seriously though, I loved his performance and his character so much here. At the beginning of the movie, we see that his character’s identity is mostly rooted in his niceness. His character prides himself in being a nice guy despite being a little bit dull. That said, throughout the movie we see Farrell’s character begin to shift from being the nice guy to one who is enraged at his old friend for what he is doing to him and that is when Farrell really begins to shine through his performance. He has one scene that is just remarkable and it’s one of my favorite performances of the year. I think Farrell is definitely going to receive his first-ever Oscar nomination for this, and who knows, he could even win given the competition and I would be so happy for him because as previously mentioned, he truly is one of my favorites.

As for Brendan Gleeson, he is just one of the best-supporting actors working today and he was perfectly cast in this film as the friend who unfriends Colin Farrell’s character. Gleeson’s character’s motivation behind that decision is actually really interesting and it’s one of the most thought-provoking parts of the film. That said, because of how talented of an actor Gleeson is, we were able to see where he was coming from despite his unbelievable pettiness. I just thought his character felt so real despite both the mystery inside him and the extremes he goes to in the film, but all in all, Gleeson was fantastic and he is locked in for what would be his first Oscar nomination as well for Best Supporting Actor.

Gleeson wasn’t the only great supporting performance in the movie though, because Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan both gave amazing supporting performances as well. First with Condon, and I had never seen her in anything before this, but she was certainly a standout in the film. She is really funny in this and her character has some of the best comedic moments in the whole thing. The other one who is responsible for the other best comedic moments in the film is Barry Keoghan. He plays the absolute dumbest person in this town and he just does it so well. It is just a perfect casting choice, and I don’t know how he plays idiots so well. Both Condon and Keoghan are serious threats too to get Oscar nominations which is insane because that’d be four acting nominations, but the acting from the whole cast in this is better than any other movie I’ve seen this year.

Aside from the performances though, the technical elements in this film are simply incredible. The setting of the movie takes place in this small Irish seaside town and the location really felt like a character in this movie because of how beautifully it was shot by Ben Davis. The cinematography is just outstanding here though. From the way he captured the landscapes to the way he shot the interiors of the bar, I was just in awe of Davis for taking this movie to another level. Also, the editing was done with an awareness of where the jokes were and how long the audience would be laughing at said jokes, so shoutout to Mikkel E. G. Nielsen, the editor of the film, who will most definitely be getting nominated. And last but not least, Carter Burwell’s score for this is just ridiculously good. It felt very fitting to the movie and I don’t see any way he doesn’t get an Oscar nomination either. All in all, this movie is just fantastic on every level and it’s a serious contender for Best Picture.

THE BAD

If you can’t tell yet, I absolutely loved this movie. It’s #2 on the year for me only behind Everything Everywhere All at Once (see my full review here). I just don’t have anything bad to say about it. Sure, the story is kind of absurd at the end of the day, there’s some gore, and the ending might lose some people, but I seriously recommend checking this out. You won’t regret it.

THE VERDICT

Thanks to Martin McDonagh, the master of black comedy himself, The Banshees of Inisherin is not only his best film but also one of the year’s very best films. It’s backed by Oscar-worthy performances from the four main cast members and it's just a seriously well-crafted film that is full of laughs throughout.

This movie is fucking hilarious, there’s no debating that, but there’s also something existential about the movie too that really makes you think about how you go about your own everyday life, and I don’t know what else to say, I loved everything about it.