The Banshees Of Inisherin

I liked the scenery.

Something that I also noticed and was a bit of a throw back to my younger days (not the 1920s mind you) and was the shots that showed people on the road.

Obviously no one in rural Ireland is on the road anymore, but when I was young in the 70s it was common to see people on the road, kids to and from school, farmers on bikes going to and from land, people walking to Mass.

I can only assume that's not directed at me.

For what’s it’s worth, I believe the self mutilation is a metaphor - recalling the ancient idea of the poet/musician (‘file’) cursing the lord that did not offer him food, board and drink when he arrived to perform.

He would self harm in order to bring shame to the person he was cursing. At the time of film was set, Terence Mc Swiney (a playwright) had recently killed himself by hunger strike in order to shame the British into submission. A very Irish thing to do.

So, another parallel between the central conflict in the film and the political situation at that time - and the sheer pointlessness of hate.

well said..

on my 2nd viewing I actually had a lot more sympathy for Colm than I did when I saw it first...

well, wouldn't one have to be a bit "mad" to chop off ones own fingers?!

and I don't think he hated Padraic.. he just took his own frustrations out on him (prob cos he thought he would be passive aggressive.. until Jenny got hurt that is - ekk)

Probably the most high-profile criticism of the film.

And Colin! 🥳

woo hoo

Am I the only one who found Condon utterly unremarkable? Cry a little in bed and say ‘aren’t ya a right bollocks’ and you get an Oscar nomination.

The Oscars have become a bit of a running joke at this stage and the 9 nominations prove it for me. This is an average film at best. Some will like it, some won't. There's no doubt Gleeson is a good actor, but he plays a very similar role in many of his films, angst-ridden, persecuted, dry wit, etc. He was hardly stretching his abilities in this one. The screenplay started well, but ran out of steam half way through as did everything else with the film.

It feels like McDonagh, Spielberg, etc can serve up anything and the Americans will love it and it will get loads of nominations and awards. A lot of recent, lauded Spielberg films have also been average at best.

Just got around to watching this last night. I enjoyed it. The script and performances were brilliant, and they just nailed the chemistry. It's funny in a stupid manner imo. But I felt it kinda lost it in the end, even though I had no idea how it would go. My mother, a dressmaker, mentioned they were all too well dressed for the time, and I think she kinda has a point, they were very clean looking for people living in near poverty on an island. But I still enjoyed it.

However, after seeing it, I believe it's a pointless film. As in, it doesn't go anywhere and feels like an extended short story. But I also don't get all these hidden references and artistic things that critics et al get. But that's just my view. Preferred his other films. And even though he was only exec producer, The Guard is better. Feels like a story was told in the other films. In this, not so much imo.