By our entertainment editors
Jan 27, 2023 at 8:34 PM
The Banshees of Inisherin was nominated nine times for an Oscar this week. Director Martin McDonagh recruited actors Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, among others, for the comic and at the same time dramatic film. They play two Irish friends who are no longer friends, but find it difficult to break off their friendship.
AD – 5 stars
“It is 1923 and a civil war is raging on the mainland. (…) But in this isolated place with a handful of shops, a church and some sheep, there is very little to do. Pádraic has to do on this island along the Irish coast in terms of company of his sister Siobhán, the unstable village idiot Dominic and house donkey Jenny. He continues to desperately try to fall back into Colm’s favor. Is that such a good idea?”
“It all seems too thin to fill a complete feature film, but the peerless The Banshees of Inisherin works wonders with this premise. Especially when it becomes more clear why Colm so suddenly pulled the plug on their friendship. He wants to find himself in this hopeless focus more on his musical talent. Perhaps playing the violin and composing are a ticket to a more vibrant life. The unambitious Pádraic only gets in the way.”
“When the humor slowly fades, a gnawing feeling of loneliness and longing remains. And then suddenly essential questions surface. Is it art that ultimately makes life really worth living? Can you throw in a friendship for that? Is Pádraic a hero because he prefers human interaction above all else? Or is he a naive who wastes his time?”
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NRC – 4 stars
“McDonagh based The Banshees of Inisherin on an unperformed play. Between 1996 and 2001 he wrote several more that took place on the Aran Islands in the mouth of Galway Bay. Because McDonagh is a celebrated playwright who writes precise dialogues, there is a misunderstanding that his work is not cinematic.”
“For example, he shot on location on Inishmore and the slightly rougher island of Achill, which makes the film look extremely beautiful. He joked that he wanted to make ‘the most beautiful Irish film ever’, and he succeeded. The (sometimes harsh) beauty of the environment also creates a contrast with the content, in which abuse and mental and physical violence are becoming increasingly prominent.”
“McDonagh keeps this civil war small, somewhere far in the background. Yet The Banshees of Inisherin is ultimately about it. That this is only implied speaks volumes for this sublime film in all respects. It is about the inability to bridge differences, about misunderstandings and trivial incidents that get out of hand. Unfortunately, they are of all times.”
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Loyal – 4 stars
“As lilting as the title sounds, just as melodic is the ‘feckin’ cursing between friends Pádraic and Colm on the fictional Irish island of Inisherin in 1923 (pronounced Inisherin). The darkly comical doom story about two men, one half of whom suddenly decides that their years of friendship is over and the other who refuses to accept has garnered a whopping nine Oscar nominations this week.”
“The Banshees wouldn’t have been such a smash hit without starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Few other actors capture Colm’s calm stubbornness on screen like Gleeson. Farrell sharply and credibly evolves his character from an overly affectionate friend (…) to a fierce enemy. Between all the pain and dark humour, the Irish phrases they hurl at each other’s heads sound as unrelenting as the tens of meters high shoreline of Inisherin.”
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de Volkskrant – 4 stars
“The premise of The Banshees of Inisherin is as concrete and measured as the landscape in which the film is set, and just as treacherous. Emotions in the oeuvre of Anglo-Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh cannot simply be covered with words. (…) Behind Colm’s sober statement hides a deep existential crisis, as Pádraic continues to press his former drinking companion for an explanation, then fails to leave Colm alone, even when Colm threatens to attempt to cut off one of his own fingers.”
“Thus, The Banshees of Inisherin becomes a darkly comic, sensitive descent down the cliffs of human affection. A poignant film too, very calm and sad at the same time, thanks in large part to the fantastic, understated interplay of Farrell and Gleeson The actors (…) make tangible in no time how close the friendship of their characters once was, how well they know or thought they knew each other, and how great the void is in which they are now left behind.”
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