Better Late Than Never on "The Banshees of Inisherin"

During the week I got back to watching more movies after my kids' long weekend, and one of the movies I got caught up on was "Banshees of Inisherin". I remember this movie coming out back during COVID. But it came out when some theaters were reopening. I was still pretty hesitant, even in 2022, to go back to the theaters. So, even though this new Martin McDonagh movie was being released in theaters, I was not ready to see it in theaters. And then I forgot about it, unfortunately. Then it got nominated for a bunch of Oscars and returned to my radar for a moment. Unfortunately for me it was not streaming on one of the many services we subscribe to. Then, while taking a break watching "Nirvanna The Band The Show", I saw that "Banshees of Inisherin" was also streaming on Hulu. So I fired it up and sat back ready to enjoy.

I loved this movie so much. While watching the other day I kind of bemoaned my anxiety from back in 2022, because this would have been a fun movie to see with an audience. The long and short story of this movie is, it is about a friendship that is suddenly gone one day. But there is so much more going on here. I mentioned to my dad, who also likes this movie, that when Colin Farrell works with a competent writer, director and supporting actors, he is great. He has already proven that he can go bar for bar with Brendon Gleeson in "In Bruges", also directed by McDonagh. This is not necessarily a sequel, this movie takes place in the 1920's in Ireland, but Gleeson and Farrell are the co leads and they play friends who have issues they need to resolve.

Farrell is wonderful as I mentioned. His arc in the movie, from happy go lucky to kind of sinister near the end was a blast to watch. He is the put upon friend. He is the one who has no issues at the start, and he is just happily living his life, going to the pub, having meaningless chats and taking care of his animals. Gleeson is the friend who has decided to end the friendship with no warning. But he has his reasons. He is tired of meaningless conversations. He wants to be remembered by history by writing a song. He wants to be left to do the things he wants to do with his life. And he takes this to the very extremes. I mean, he mutilates himself just to prove to Farrell that he wants their friendship to be over. Kerry Condon plays Farrell's sister, and she is wonderful as well. I saw beforehand that she was nominated for this movie, and after watching it it was easy to see why. She yearns for something different. She wants to get out of the rut she is in in this current life. She wants more. She is learned and educated and she wants to continue that education and knows the only way to do that is to leave her home and family behind, as hard as that may be. She is at times heartbreaking, understanding and hilarious all within one scene in this movie. Barry Keoghan plays the random town kid that is just involved with everyone. Keoghan is funny, charming and I found myself rooting for him. He is also a nuisance and hard to be around, but he does have heart. And his demise was so upsetting for me to watch. But make no mistake, this is Gleeson, and to an even larger extent, Farrell's movie. Gleeson plays the character he has nailed to this point in his career. He has this quiet confidence and knows exactly what he wants in his life. He nails this and Gleeson is fast becoming one of my favorite actors. And Farrell is dynamite. As I said, his arc is amazing to see and he nails it. I would vacillate between rooting for and against him from scene to scene. There's one particular scene, in the pub, that is so perfect and so heartbreaking. The conversation he has with Gleeson, while drunk, is performed to perfection. There's another scene when he barges into Gleeson's home, trying to be tough, and what ensues afterward sets the whole movie into motion. I also really liked his work with the animals, and I felt so rough for him when his sister left and made it pretty clear she was not coming back.

I'm so glad that I remedied myself and finally watched this movie. I have not stopped thinking about it since I finished it the other day. And seeing this makes me only want to see "Wild Horse Nine" that much more. Martin McDonagh is an amazing director, and "Banshees of Inisherin" is more than deserving of all the credit it has gotten since it came out. This movie rules. Check it out. 

Ty 

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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