Review: THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN (2022)
There hasn’t been a love letter to a donkey of this magnitude since SHREK.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN follows deeply two Irish friends, Pádraic (Colin Farell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), inhabitants of the small idyllic island of Inisherin who have fallen out of favor with each other. While we don’t see the lead up to how the relationship once was, Colm makes it immediately apparent that he wants nothing to do with Pádraic who seems to be ever present and blissfully unaware of his ignorance to the turning tide. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN weaves a beautiful but wistful tale with an ethereal folkloric soundtrack that delightfully plucks at the audience’s heartstrings. The gorgeous cinematography of Ben Davis traverses the expansive verdant landscape of a remote Irish island which, while filled with beauty and endless sight lines, reveals a claustrophobic environment of a small town atmosphere where everyone not only knows your name, but your business as well.
BANSHEES’ beautiful backdrop of picturesque imagery and rhythmic score provide a great accompaniment to the tremendous cast.
Farell’s performance of Pádraic, an emotional departure from the typical Irish thoughtless or scrappy drunk often the only archetype portrayed in Irish settings is instead a rumination on a happy simple man whose primary aim in life is to be pleasant. Pádraic’s infinite sadness begins when he feels a friend Colm, now present but long lost.
The accompanying tale is full of depression, introspection, and heartbreak as Pádraic and Colm come to terms with inevitability of time’s continuous march forward and the contemplation of one’s own mortality and legacy or lack thereof.
Martin McDonagh’s characters gravitate to the two of the most associated locales in Irish tales, the pub and the church.
These local Inisherin institutions are run by two brothers who are ever informed of anyone’s downfalls or misgivings as one is the local Catholic priest (David Pearse) who runs the town’s confessional booth and his sibling, the barkeep who hears the drunk precursor confessions and inevitable sins that are in progress.
The town is also populated by a range of characters from the busybody shopkeep Mrs. Reardon, Pádraic’s spinster sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon), and the aggressive patrolman Jonjo and his hapless son Dominic (Barry Keoghan).
Mortality, legacy, and immortality return as themes in a way that definitely feels like a spiritual successor to IN BRUGES. Brendan Gleeson’s authentic musicianship is in the forefront as well and features original fiddle compositions which the actor / touring musician personally composed. Carter Burwell’s score wallows in atmospheric stringed melodies that both soothe and cut deeply simultaneously.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is a tremendously emotional character study pervaded with emotion crafted through the meticulous writing of McDonagh. The melodic tale is gorgeous, poignant yet retains many somber elements of a dark comedy. The methodical film’s slower pace may be difficult for some, but THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN has a soul of a movie like no other I viewed at Fantastic Fest.
