BFI Presents: The Banshees of Inisherin impressively explores the fragility of friendship
By Chris Leonard, Third Year, English
A man invites his friend to the pub, but his friend doesn’t want to hang out anymore. What do you do when your best friend no longer wants to be your best friend? The Banshees of Inisherin details the horror and the absurd comedy that comes out of this.
Martin McDonagh’s new film explores the intimate violence that erupts when close friends fight. Colm, the older, more refined and artistic of the two friends, has a simple reply when Pádraic questions why Colm has suddenly cut him off: “I just don’t like you no more.”
The fallout seems temporary until Colm, who is on a journey to accept his own mortality, decides to take drastic action when Pádraic refuses to leave him alone and states that he’ll cut off his own fingers if Pádraic bothers him again.
From there, Colm, Pádraic, his sister Siobhan, and their neighbour, Dominic, all push for the best life for themselves in this claustrophobic microcosm, even if that means hurting themselves.
Freedom, if it even exists on Inisherin, always comes at the price of self-sacrifice. As conflicts escalate, we question whether paying the price of such peace is even worth it. This conflict seems laughable in the face of old Mrs McCormick, a frail old lady who initially is part of what makes this film hilarious, but then develops into a deathly grim reaper figure, waiting for violence to occur.
At the heart of this film is the existential dread of not being or doing enough for your friends, even when they turn their back on you. Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell reunite with the director after 14 years since In Bruges (2008), on a beautiful island off the coast of Ireland.
The verdant landscape, the comedy, the 1920s as a time period, and the simple, attractive lifestyle combine to create a warmer, more realised atmosphere than some of Martin McDonagh’s earlier films and plays.
While both In Bruges (2008) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) rely on high-stake crimes, shootouts, and corrupt power structures, in The Banshees of Inisherin, prioritising everyday laypeople allows for far more depth and nuance to be achieved.
This feels like McDonough’s most mature and nuanced script, balancing the humour of the character dynamics with the horror of fighting your best friend.
On the surface level, the premise is simple, but the longer you watch, the more the comedy is subtly replaced by the visceral reality of loneliness, confusion, and isolation.
Craving friendship and community leads Pádraic to violate and destroy Colm’s boundaries, thus destroying each other. McDonough artfully conveys the brutal fact that the people you love the most can hurt you the most.
Stand-out performances include Barry Keoghan as Dominic, supplying most of the comedy for the film as the creepy youth whom Pádraic befriends. Kerry Condon plays Siobhan, Pádraic’s witty sister, who yearns for an end to the dullness of Inisherin and realises that she can’t stay around cleaning up the mess her brother leaves behind.
The only downside to this film that should be addressed is its lack of main female characters, focusing more on male homosocial relationships and how men communicate and work through issues with each other.
From the standing ovation at Venice Film Festival to the 99 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, it is clear that this film is being greeted with the highest praise. This film is great! Go watch!
Featured Image: IMDB
How did you feel about the cast being male-dominated?