The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson’s Tragicomedy Is an Outstanding Tale of a Heartbreaking Saga of Friendship (LatestLY Exclusive)

The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review: Ever caught up in a situation where your best friend just stops talking to you and you keep wondering why? That’s exactly what Martin McDonagh’s heartbreaking The Banshees of Inisherin is all about. Finding ourselves amidst an impasse where Colin Farrell’s Pádraic Súilleabháin tries to find out exactly what went wrong for his best mate of years Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) to stop talking to him - the story delves deep into the loneliness of one man while exploring the other’s coming to terms with his own existence. PS – some mild spoilers will be touched upon over here. Avatar The Way of Water Movie Review: James Cameron's Sci-Fi Sequel Is a Spectacular Visual Treat That Revels in Deep World-Building! (LatestLY Exclusive).

Set in 1923 right at the end of the Irish civil war, we are taken to the fictional Irish isle of Inisherin (inspired by the island of Insheer). Pádraic is a well-liked guy by the townsfolk, but is taken aback when his long-time friend starts considering him too dull for his liking and decides to take up music for the rest of his life. This is the meat of the movie as we start delving into the constant back-and-forth of the two, and what The Banshees of Inisherin does so well is bring you extremely close to the characters.

Colin Farrell is heartbreaking in this deprived look into the dwindling insecurity of a man. There is nothing wrong with him, but to be questioned like this by your best friend and having an aura of self-doubt around yourself, Farrell crushes it in this role. To support Pádraic is his sister Siobhán, a woman with huge aspirations, however, is bound by her brother and constantly looking out for him. Kerry Condon is a bright source of levity in this film, and helps balance the tone well. Not to say, her chemistry with Farrell feels heartwarming too in the bleakest moments.

Barry Keoghan on the other hand plays the dim-wit of the town named Dominic, and yet you can’t help but feel sad for him. Living with an abusive father who beats him black-and-blue and having a small crush on Siobhán, Keoghan has an exceptionally well-acted scene here that made it into my favourites of the year. And last but not least, of course, the great Brendan Gleeson is spectacular as Colm. There are so many subtleties in his performance, that it truly feels rewarding to the viewer when you look deep enough, and that’s what The Banshees of Inisherin is so good at. Barry Keoghan's Performance in This Viral Clip From The Banshees of Inisherin is Winning the Internet; Here's Where You Can Watch the Whole Movie Online.

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To you as the viewer, the basic answer given here is that Colm just grew tired of Pádraic, however, in there is a deeper reason. The one conclusion I ended up on was that Colm has just lived an extremely dreary life, and not wanting to blame himself, he tries to punish his best friend for it so he can look all high and mighty.

This is very much prevalent in when Colm decides to cut off a finger of his everytime Pádraic bothers him, and it just lends itself to the more self-destructive nature he has brewing. That foundation can be seen cracking in this one particular scene where Siobhán corrects Colm on a music related trivia, and those subtleties speak a lot overall where The Banshees of Inisherin's smartly written dialogue is at its strongest.

There are few times where some of the metaphors of The Banshees of Inisherin don’t exactly fall in place, yet it does a good job at presenting itself as a commentary for the Irish Civil War, which is explored through the falling out of these two best friends. For a film that is surprisingly bleak, it has a diabolical sense of humour that had me bursting with laughter at many occasions as characters constantly drop the F-bomb with the lick of an Irish accent. Balancing the comedy with the drama, I loved what McDonagh was able to accomplish with his writing. Jack Ryan Season 3 Review: John Krasinski's Spy Series Tells a Familiar Tale With Nothing New to Offer (LatestLY Exclusive).

The Banshees of Inisherin is beautifully shot too with the isle being swept up in its lush greenery and soiled shores. Featuring wide shots that encapsulate the serenity of it all while mixing in nuances of imagery that speak to the larger plot, I loved just how simple, yet grand it all felt. It almost made me want to pack up my bag and sail to the shore of Insheer singing a jolly good ol’ shanty (of course I cried looking at my bank account knowing I won’t be able to do that, but oh well).

Yay!

The Performances

Cinematography

Nay!

Some of the Metaphors Don’t Exactly Land

Final Thoughts

Morbidly hilarious with a knife in your heart that keeps twisting with every passing second, The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the best character studies you will see. Beautifully shot with some of the most exceptional and hard-hitting performances of the year, Martin McDonagh delivers a powerhouse. The Banshees of Inisherin is streaming right now on Disney+ Hotstar.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2022 10:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).