"The Banshees of Inisherin" is an idiosyncratic blend of funny, sad, and more than anything lonely, acted by one of the best casts of the year.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two friends who have a falling out because one simply doesn't want to be friends with the other anymore. Why? Because he's become aware of how quickly his life is slipping by and he doesn't want to waste it on dull people. The other takes offense, obviously, and starts out trying to win the other back until his friend's obstinance causes his simmering animosity to boil over.
At first I was relating to Gleeson's character because I've felt like him. Life is too short to spend on relationships that don't add value. But as his behavior gets more and more extreme and.....well....let's just say out of hand (wink, wink), we start to realize how unwell he is and sympathies shift to Farrell's character. Until we start to realize how selfish he actually is and how much his own actions are driven more by wanting to be liked than by concern for his friend. And that's one of the things I liked most about the movie. These are characters dealing with the existentialism inherent in being a human being living on the planet, warts and all, and we see ourselves in all of it, both the good and the bad. Though set in the 1920s, this very much felt like a film inspired by the isolation and loneliness brought about by a global pandemic.
The standout of the cast is Kerry Condon as Farrell's sister. She's an antidote to the male angst pervading this little Irish village. While the men are content to stew and whine and complain about dull pointless lives that they don't do anything to change, she gets fed up with how boring they all are and decides to grab her own bit of happiness. Also good is Barry Keoghan as perhaps the film's most heartbreaking character.
And lest everything I've written above makes this film sound dour and depressing, did I also mention that it's very very funny? Funny in a Martin McDonagh way, to be sure, but it'll have you chuckling if you get his particular vibe.
Grade: A.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are two friends who have a falling out because one simply doesn't want to be friends with the other anymore. Why? Because he's become aware of how quickly his life is slipping by and he doesn't want to waste it on dull people. The other takes offense, obviously, and starts out trying to win the other back until his friend's obstinance causes his simmering animosity to boil over.
At first I was relating to Gleeson's character because I've felt like him. Life is too short to spend on relationships that don't add value. But as his behavior gets more and more extreme and.....well....let's just say out of hand (wink, wink), we start to realize how unwell he is and sympathies shift to Farrell's character. Until we start to realize how selfish he actually is and how much his own actions are driven more by wanting to be liked than by concern for his friend. And that's one of the things I liked most about the movie. These are characters dealing with the existentialism inherent in being a human being living on the planet, warts and all, and we see ourselves in all of it, both the good and the bad. Though set in the 1920s, this very much felt like a film inspired by the isolation and loneliness brought about by a global pandemic.
The standout of the cast is Kerry Condon as Farrell's sister. She's an antidote to the male angst pervading this little Irish village. While the men are content to stew and whine and complain about dull pointless lives that they don't do anything to change, she gets fed up with how boring they all are and decides to grab her own bit of happiness. Also good is Barry Keoghan as perhaps the film's most heartbreaking character.
And lest everything I've written above makes this film sound dour and depressing, did I also mention that it's very very funny? Funny in a Martin McDonagh way, to be sure, but it'll have you chuckling if you get his particular vibe.
Grade: A.