Review: The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin is the must-watch film of the year. Martin McDonagh reunites with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell fourteen years on from In Bruges. 

In Bruges is a quotable and wickedly funny film, with a cult following to match. 

And though McDonagh’s signature witty dialogue is ever-present with standout moments of hilarity; Banshees is a darker film, of existential strife and poetic contemplation. Banshees arguably exceeds its predecessor, and that’s saying something. 

Indeed, Gleeson and Farrell play a similar Father Ted and Dougal dynamic to In Bruges’ Ken and Ray. Padraic (Farrell) is the affable, naïve and somewhat childlike motormouth. Colm (Gleeson) is the sometimes patient, oft-times exasperated senior companion who feels, rightly or wrongly, that he possesses the more sophisticated mindset. Whereas In Bruges is a film about Ken and Ray falling (platonically) in love after initial bickering, Banshees starts with the dissolution of Padraic and Colm’s lifelong friendship. What ensues is the most refined form of madness, the provincial kind. 

In an era of heavily plot-driven films, spin-offs and sequels coming out of studios, Banshees is a character-driven tale without a McGuffin in sight. Besides the protagonists, Dominic and Siobhan are the two stand out characters.  Padraic lives with his sister Siobhan. She is the most relatable character. She is well liked on the island and isn’t afraid to stand up to anyone. Conversely, Dominic is a misunderstood young man seen as a delinquent and dismissed as the village ‘gom’. His words and actions reveal that he is in fact the opposite.

Besides the interpersonal conflict Banshees is predicated on, there is more to this film than meets the eye. The opening score is not from Ireland, but from Bulgaria. Trio Bulgarka’s transcendent keening song foreshadows the metaphysical themes threaded throughout Banshees. The influence of films like The Seventh Seal is appreciable. 

Filmed on the isle of Inishmore, as well as Achill Island; Banshees is a cinematic masterpiece. My grandmother is from Achill. Having spent many childhood holidays there, it seemed only a matter of time before Hollywood pitched its gazebo on Connacht’s picturesque coastal mountainside. Now, it is such a pleasure to see such a high calibre film emerge from this part of the world.

After Six Shooter and Three Billboards, this is another Martin McDonagh picture poised to garner accolades across the board. Banshees received a fifteen-minute standing ovation at the Venice film festival. Brendan Gleeson, Colin Farrell, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan all deliver stellar performances. Jenny the donkey and Morse the border-collie are perhaps the most endearing on-screen animals since Lassie.

This is a movie that really bears watching a second time. Hidden meanings are blissfully subtle, but they are there.  There are lessons for our current discourse, as well as life in general. Banshees is set with the backdrop of an Irish civil war, fought over the terms of a treaty with Britain. Colm and Padraic wage an equally meaningless conflict, with material consequence. 

Featured Image Credit: The Guardian