The Banshees of Inishiren. Martin McDonaugh. 2022
An odd one this. Something, I'm not sure what intrigued me yesterday. Sat round feeling sorry for myself while recovering from a godawful gutbug I found myself reading up on this on IMDB. Next thing I'd found out it was available on Disney plus and off we go.
Now I've yet to see director Martin McDonagh's acclaimed first feature film, In Bruges, I will address that in due course. Banshees is an oddity of a film, all it took was the basic synopsis to grab me I suppose. Two lifelong best friends, PĂ*draic and Colm, live on the remote island of Inishiren off the West Coast of Ireland in the 1920s. One day Colm out of nowhere, and with initially no explanation, tells PĂ*draic he doesn't want to be his friend anymore. More, he doesn't want PĂ*draic to even speak to him anymore. The problem being this is a small one pub island with an isolated extremely insular although not necasserily close-knit community.
I'm not sure what McDonaghs film is. Other than the blackest of comedy. It's in some ways takes the frame of a thriller as PĂ*draics initially innocent, sweet, and understandably hurt reaction means he endeavours against his best mates wishes to repair whatever has caused the rift, in doing so only driving the wedge further in and taking us into the realms of psychological horror, while the film is admittedly never blatantly horror. The setting, a beautiful rugged island stunningly photographed is absolutely dripping in atmosphere, it absorbed me in another world. As we delve further into the two men's psyche we start to understand perhaps their true character and dare I say a glimpse of all humans under certain circumstances. The isolation of the island making everything more focused and present, impossible to ignore.
I'm rambling. The two friends, PĂ*draic and Colm are brilliantly realised by Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson respectively. I'm not normally a fan of Farrel, I don't massively dislike his work, I just find it largely meh. Here he excels. Gleeson is always worth the money and plays this to perfection. A thoroughly miserable bastard who's aspirations of something better and bigger only see him becoming something smaller and lesser.
The characters motivations are I suppose a little unclear, Colm at least, and this could be seen as a flaw. The ending itself also left me wanting a little more, though i think thats the point. Anyway I very much enjoyed The Banshees of Inishiren and I have my take on what's going on, while I've no wish to spoil anything and don't feel the film can be discussed too much without doing so. Special mention must be given to supporting players Kerry Condon and especially Barry Keoghan as respectively PĂ*draics sister Siobhan, the only character with the guts to actually do something about her life instead of just moaning and Dominic the perceived village idiot who also has his share of darkness going on and is probably the character most deserving something better.
The Banshees of Inishiren, I highly recommend this sad, tragic but darkly and very funny tale which for me at least borders on a more subtle type of horror. Though please don't go in expecting any of the above [emoji23]
Last edited by J Harker; 28th January 2023 at 07:40 PM.
|