The Banshees of Inisherin: An Excellent Subversion of Expectations

The Banshees of Inisherin is a fantastic movie, however seeing it is best done knowing as little as possible. The way the movie is marketed in trailers and TV spots combined with the synopsis of the movie on the various digital ticketing apps makes for a totally unique experience where anyone who sees it will not expect anything that is coming over the nearly two hour runtime. The less a viewer knows, the better the experience will be for them.

The movie is about two men (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who have a falling out and their friendship ends. The film follows the drama on this small island off the coast of Ireland as the two attempt to come to terms with this new paradigm shift and it radiates across everyone who lives on the island.

If the movie has a weak point, it is Dominic (Barry Keoghan) who never feels quite developed as an entity within the movie to the point where when his arc does eventually resolve at the end, his resolution does not feel properly developed. He is annoying but has an endearing quality to him so there is some sympathy to him, however where his plot resolves does not feel like it quite fits properly with where his narrative has brought him throughout the run of the film.

The acting performances from Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson carry the movie. As the movie goes on and it starts to move from grounded into the more surreal, the performances of these two actors make the movie work and, had the performances been lackluster, the movie may have ventured into Mother! territory where things just don’t feel right. The feel of the narrative moves from general realistic fiction to a more Shakespearian feel to a more surreal tone to something resembling a horror movie at such a quick pace that it only works if the actors can keep up with and articulate that pace.

The Banshees of Inisherin makes strong cases going into awards season for top prizes in Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards. It is worth a watch because, while it can be dark and depressing throughout the runtime, it does have some great comedic moments to break up the dreary nature of the film.

Final Rating: 9/10