The Banshees Of Inisherin

JP Liz V1

Martin McDonagh unites with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson

https://youtu.be/BqQ8mM48RJI

Mehaffey1

Looks only OK. Although, In Bruges was never expected to become so well regarded before it came out either.

igCorcaigh

I loved In Bruges. Looking forward to people's opinions on this one. Quality actors.

pixelburp

Ha, wasn't aware McDonagh had another coming. Must go back and remind myself what I reckoned of 3 Billboards... cos I don't recall at all. Remember even less of 7 Psychopaths.

This looks interesting and bizarre: it's like a film is trying to bottle that Irish gruff, social belligerence you can get between former friends. Good cast. It's interesting how McDonagh is technically English but has obviously kept a deep, personal connection with his parents' origin.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119435869#Comment_119435869

Didn't think much of 7 Psychopaths.

But I thought 3 billboards was really good. I wasn't expecting much from it based on a little synopsis of the story; but I found it really entertaining.

Akrasia

7 psychopaths was stupid but this looks good

Tony EH

The problem with McDonagh is that his stuff stops being fun at a certain point. I don't like his extreme shifts in tone. 'In Bruges' is a perfect example. That film is a hoot, albeit in a subdued manner, but when Ralph Fiennes makes his way to Bruges and Gleeson horses himself off of the tower, it stops being entertaining in a light hearted way, and that sudden lurch creates an extremely jarring effect that really impacts the enjoyment of the film in a serious way.

igCorcaigh

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437402#Comment_119437402

Oh, I thought that was the best part of the film. Plays with your expectations.

MfMan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437402#Comment_119437402

The problem with McDonagh I think is that he is a wannabe Tarantino, (who himself was always a wannabe Scorcese/Howard Hawks hybrid), with a bit of Coen brothers mixed in. Always better to develop your own style of film-making.

Thelonious Monk

I just find the sense of humour really juvenile in his films. Or he'll use the N word or something like we're supposed to think omg he actually went there. Like did anyone find the jokes in that trailer funny? I went to see that Lieutenant of Inishwhatever in the Gaeity a couple of years ago, tickets as presents, it was so awful.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119438761#Comment_119438761

Sure. But there are ways to do that without a sudden and drastic lurch in tone.

But if you like it, you like it.

Tony EH

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119444530#Comment_119444530

There's certainly something to that.

That being said, I watched 'Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri' last night and thought it was uniformly great. More Coen Bros. that Quentin. But easily his best effort so far.

pixelburp

McDonagh doesn't hard stop his scripts for a random, incongruous monologue about comics though; for which I'm grateful.

Seems a bit of a thin premise to hang a full film off of.

buried

Looks like a sexier Hi-Def version of Jim Sheridan's 'The Field' more than anything else. When I heard the film title I had hoped it would be something maybe about the fantastic mythos and legend of the 'Banshee' from Irish folklore. But no, looks like McDonagh is just going to continue his ridicule of genuine indigenous Irish culture, like he has already done in works such as 'The cripple of Inishmaan'. No time for this gadge at all. When he is not copying the likes of Tarantino or the Coen's, all he wants to do is showcase Irish people as halfwit thick's. Gets boring after a while.

Apothic_Red

Well it debuted last night atthe Venice Film Festival

Reviews are very positive

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_banshees_of_inisherin/reviews

The Telegraph really liked it

cmac2009

5 stars in The Times as well.

TheIrishGrover

Looks like the most Martin McDonagh movie ever :). Looks good though. I wasn't a fan of his brother's "Calvary" though.

Seems decent which is a surprise as I thought the trailer was pretty terrible.

johnny_ultimate

I wouldn't be the biggest McDonagh fan but yeah this does seem to have won over even the skeptics in Venice.

I did go to see The Lonesome West when it was staged in Dublin a few months back (my first time seeing any of his plays) and it was certainly a good deal more satisfying than his films thus far. This seems more in line with that in terms of setting and tone - hopefully so!

Fair to say it's also exponentially more interesting than his brother's latest 'The Forgiven' anyway, which was released in cinemas last week but may as well not exist for all the buzz and interest it has generated.

Agent Coulson

Farrell won best actor at the Venice festival

The Princess Bride

I'm looking forward to this, I'm a massive MMcD fan. Six Shooter his Oscar winning short, and The Pillowman( play) being 2 of my favourites. I wasn't terribly keen on Seven Psychopaths.

His (too?) dark humour (I would NOT call it fun!) might not be to everyone's taste, such is life. Gleeson and Farrell have a great screen presence, and seem to act well together, and this is receiving good reviews.

JP Liz V1

https://youtu.be/9-R9u2UD3FU

It will be released in the UK and Irish cinemas from 21st October

Seems to getting more and more Oscar buzz

weadick

Anyone seen this? Is it as good as the reviews suggest?

I remember Calvary got similarly good reviews and I thought it was an awful film.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119764783#Comment_119764783

That's what I'm worried about as well. It's like when Tarantino or Christopher Nolan release a movie, everyone goes bezerk over it, even if it's average.

johnny_ultimate

I thought it was really good, and I've been so-so about most of McDonagh's film work (although Martin is far more accomplished than his brother in that respect, even if Seven Psychopaths was a bit of a dud). It strikes the right balance between comedy and dark drama: often very funny indeed while still packing a fair wallop of existential dread. Definitely the most confident compromise he has found between his playwriting and his screenwriting.

The recent After Yang was something of a career-best for Farrell, but this probably tops that again - really excellent stuff. And Gleeson is a dab hand as always.

Maybe not my absolute favourite of the current batch of cinema releases - I'd give the edge to Decision to Leave - but very impressive work and deserving of the positive reviews. McDonagh's best film to date IMO.

Beechwoodspark

martin Mcdonagh stuff is wildly overrated and overhyped. I got bit once with that rubbish Calvary.

I won’t be making the same mistake.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119767551#Comment_119767551

Martin McDonagh didn’t write or direct Calvary :)

Electric Nitwit

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119767576#Comment_119767576

🤣.

Ryaller

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119764783#Comment_119764783

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119767551#Comment_119767551

Yeah, I hate to be pedantic, but Calvary was written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, not Martin. John Michael is the Fredo of the McDonagh family.

santana75

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119767551#Comment_119767551

Easy mistake to make to be fair. I agree though, Three billboards was over rated. Ive tickets booked for this tomorrow and I'm hoping the film matches the glowing reviews its received.

Beechwoodspark

Genuinely didn’t realise it was his bro responsible for Calvary

but he is responsive for the billboards film?

For some reason the Mcdonaghs seem to get good critical reviews.

Both are muck viewing so will be wary of this new one.

Cluedo Monopoly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119437402#Comment_119437402

I thought that was the genius of In Bruges. It was funny and yet nerve wracking.

I also thought the brother's movie The Guard was superbly made and acted.

Brock Turnpike

Went to see this on a whim today. Not really sure how I feel about it. It looks beautiful, as in the scenery and cinematography is fantastic, but the storyline isn't overly strong.

I've seen Barry Keoghan interviewed a few times and never liked him, yet I have to admit he was very good in this. As was Kerry Condon, who played the sister of Farrell's character Pádraic

It's a bit too "diddly aye Irish" at times, and yet it still is funny in places. However after an hour we were wondering how they were going to get another hour out of the storyline.

santana75

It's a misery-fest from start to finish. Just not for me. Colin farrell is very good as is Brendan gleeson and kerry condon. It looks like a Terence malick film, beautiful cinematography and the soundtrack is suitably haunting. But it's just unremittingly bleak and maybe some people will go for that but I like my movies upbeat and with a positive message and this was not that.

Brock Turnpike

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119777483#Comment_119777483

Yeah I totally get what you're saying about the misery.

KerryM9

It was good for a while, but it lost me along the way. The laughs are more fleeting than anything, as in they pass along and we return to the bleak happenings. What was the theme, beyond rural island life being inward and harsh..?

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119777779#Comment_119777779

I thought there were some themes about the Civil War?

KerryM9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778042#Comment_119778042

I suppose there's some mirroring in that yes, but that's hardly enough to hang your coat on and I'm not convinced he didn't write the main part first and just tack that on to create that parallel later.

johnny_ultimate

There’s a very central theme of the ultimate existential crisis: realising one’s own mortality and deciding what to do with the time left. We see this playing out in very different - and often tragic - ways through the choices the four central characters make throughout the film.

KerryM9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778445#Comment_119778445

One of those 4 made sense to me. Maybe 2.

Spoiler Warning

I also can't understand why on one hand Gleeson's character wanted to create stuff with his time left, but then did the thing that prevented him from doing so, there was so many other things he could have done to achieve the same goal and still allow him to explore his creative side which is apparently why he wanted the change. It was beyond contradictory. And if you say he's also self sabotaging, then why didn't he [spoiler] stay in the house at the end[spoiler]. It's not coherent.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778510#Comment_119778510

Spoiler Warning

For me the conflict between Farrell and Gleeson’s characters was very dramatically believable. You have these two stubborn people, so intent on their own beliefs that they will go to increasingly extreme, self-destructive and even cruel lengths to get their point across. When Colm cuts off his finger, it’s out of sheer stubborn desperation that Padraic isn’t getting the point. And ultimately he goes to an even greater extreme, destroying the thing he loves (his music playing), because that’s what he explicitly said he’d do if he wasn’t left alone. It’s tragic farce: to get one thing he wants, he has to destroy another.

He’s not suicidal, though, which is crucial: he wants to live out his remaining days, just on his terms. And he still has basic compassion, such as his genuine upset when the donkey dies, perhaps the tragedy that gives the two men the capacity to find some sort of reluctant truce.

Does any of this make ‘real world’ sense? No: a lot of their actions are exaggerated and, from most perspectives, irrational. But does it make internal dramatic and thematic sense? IMO absolutely :)

KerryM9

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778590#Comment_119778590

Spoiler Warning

I wouldn't call Farrel's character stubborn, not until the end. And I wouldn't say he had beliefs, so I'm not sure what you mean. Also you explained why he cut off his fingers, and I know that, but it doesn't make sense in the context of the existential crisis and where it is he wanted to go with his remaining time. It just doesn't.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119778659#Comment_119778659

Well I do think that Paraic’s main character trait is that he’s, well, a bit of an eejit 😅 But there is IMO a fundamental stubbornness and naivety there in his refusal to accept that he has been cast off. Every time you think he gets the hint, it’s quickly proven that he doesn’t… up until the second half of the film anyway!

Spoiler Warning

As for Colm, I think his fundamental drive is he decides to live the rest of his life on his own terms, doing what he wants. He wants peace and quiet, and time to focus on his music. When it increasingly looks like he can’t get both, he chooses one - sending a definitive message to someone who just doesn’t get it at the expense of one of the things he loves most in life. I found it all immensely satisfying in the context of the characters and the story being told. But if it didn’t work for you, that’s fair enough too :)

silverharp

A nice review of it here.

https://youtu.be/U7VLEg-54x8

igCorcaigh

Oh dear.. it doesn't seem to be what I was expecting from some of the comments here... Will probably go see it anyway, as I, eh, do like the misery.

Ficheall

All of McDonagh's stuff is on the bleak side - that can hardly be surprise.

I enjoyed it - the usual dark humour. Felt it could have done with another Act, as it were.

murpho999

Well I really enjoyed this. Laugh out loud funny in some parts and very bleak and and sad in others.

For me the main take away was that it was set against the backdrop of the civil war, and I wondered why that was , as it could have been set in any time period, and I think it offered the opportunity to show the futility of fighting with your friends and only leads to death and trauma.

Outstanding performances by the two leads and also Kerry Condon but I also thought Barry Keoghan deserved special praise

Film still has me thinking about and interpreting its meaning 24 hours later which is a sign of a good film to me and I might even go see it again

mcw100

Just saw this film today, absolutely loved it. Darkly funny and very sad. Brilliant performances across the board but Barry Keoghan take a bow sir! Superb 👏 👏

Shelga

I went to see this this evening. I had kind of been aware that it’s dark, but until you’re watching it, you don’t really take that in.

It’s a pretty intense and savage meditation on loneliness, despair, rural isolation, friendship, masculinity, and grudges. I honestly think it might be a bit much for some people at the moment. I didn’t find it depressing as such, but bleak and blunt.

Gleeson and particularly Farrell are excellent, as is Kerry Condon, and the cinematography is beautiful- loved seeing Keem in Achill this way. Really drove home how the beauty of the scenery becomes almost meaningless when you’re silently going mad with depression and despair. And it is funny too, but for me, that didn’t lighten the second half at all.

drawnacrol

I loved the first two thirds of it. I haven't been in the cinema in a long time so being surrounded by everyone in fits of laughter made it all the better. Excellent acting, portrayal of island life and loved the use of older slang and language. Great to see so many Irish actors, everyone delivered on their performance. The story was a bit weak and drawn out and lost me near the end when it burnt out without resolving the plot.

Spoiler Warning

The animal death hit home though. No film has ever come close to portraying what an animal death is actually like so I wasn't prepared for that.