The Banshees of Inisherin movie review - Aussieboyreviews
WHAT MAKES THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN AN EFFECTIVE PORTRAIT OF LONELINESS AND DESPAIR?
Although it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, the film is an old fashioned tale of loneliness with a metaphor relating to war. It’s held together strongly by performances, touches of humour and a perfect pace.
Storyline
The relationship of two lifelong friends living in a small town on a remote Irish island comes to an abrupt dead end when one suddenly declares one day that he no longer likes the other.
Movie Images
Movie details
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Pat Shortt
Writer: Martin McDonagh
Release Date (Australia): 26 December 2022
Runtime: 114 minutes/1h 54m
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country: UK, USA, Ireland
Language: English
CONTENT GUIDE (warning: May contain spoilers)
The film contains themes relating to domestic violence and suicide, as well as depictions of dead animals, corpses and self mutilation.
The film contains bloody depictions of a man’s severed fingers and his injured hand after the act.
The film contains use of the words “f**k”, “s**t”, “arse” and “bollocks”.
None.
The film contains a brief scene of frontal male nudity as a nude man is depicted sleeping in a chair.
The film contains mild sexual references, including a verbal reference to masturbation using the word “wanking”.
mpaa rating
R (for language throughout, some violent content and brief graphic nudity)
Aussie boy's thoughts
Exceptional writer-director Martin McDonagh may be the best expert you can look towards when it comes to writing a bleak story about loneliness, conflict and despair with outstanding humour. He’s also a brilliant director who knows that he can trust that his actors will perform realistically and to the best of their abilities onscreen, resulting in another masterpiece that’s arguably better than Three Billboards.
Set on an everyone-knows-everyone kind of small Irish Island where the beautiful landscapes make the outdoor scenes such gorgeous cinematic memories, the seemingly-well friendship between Colin Farrell’s and Brendan Gleeson’s characters, Pádraic and Colm, comes to an abrupt end when Colm decides he no longer likes Pádraic. The Banshees of Inisherin chooses to dive straight into when Pádraic becomes aware of the news and is forced to deal with the circumstances. It makes for a compelling time-period movie with distinctive care for each character and a pace like magic.
The Banshees of Inisherin is the greatest movie of the year and all of the details tick off requirements to meet the state of perfection. Scenes knowing they’d be better off without music play silently without the slightest recognition of any forms of forced soundtrack. The film gives us a clear image of how this friendship looked before it was broken, without even having scenes or flashbacks of Colm and Pádraic bantering as good friends do. This is an incredibly bleak movie where the sunlight is always blocked out by clouds, yet it knows how to pull off laugh-out-loud humour that doesn’t shed over the bigger themes.
Speaking of laughs, there’s a “funny” kind of character performed heartbreakingly by Barry Keoghan who could’ve easily stood by for a bit of comedic relief in the rawest of moments, but his existence as a struggling human is portrayed without mockery. It eventually brings you down to the fact that the entire cast, although not crammed fully, deliver such stunning performances that whilst you’re watching them, you genuinely forget that they’re fictional beings. They feel like real people who have entire lives that a 2 hour movie can’t capture. Farrell and Gleeson are absolutely perplexing, whilst it feels like the supporting cast members deliver the real stand-out characters. Kerry Condon as Pádraic’s sister gives probably one of the best supporting performances you’ll see in your life. The best supporting actress award should be walking straight to her. Although it’s not everyone’s “cup of tea”, The Banshees of Inisherin is a profound and breathtaking drama constructed with great direction, lifelike aspects, and a metaphor relating to war.
Thank you for reading this page and for more Aussie Boy reviews, visit Aussieboyreviews.com.