The Banshees Of Inisherin

Beechwoodspark · 20-10-2022 10:05pm

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 · 20-10-2022 10:35pm

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 · 21-10-2022 10:43pm

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 · 21-10-2022 10:51pm

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 · 21-10-2022 10:54pm

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

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

KerryM9 · 22-10-2022 12:06am

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 · 22-10-2022 6:47am

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

I thought there were some themes about the Civil War?

KerryM9 · 22-10-2022 10:38am

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 · 22-10-2022 10:43am

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 · 22-10-2022 11:01am

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

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

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 · 22-10-2022 11:26am

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

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 · 22-10-2022 11:49am

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

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 · 22-10-2022 12:15pm

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!

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 · 22-10-2022 4:25pm

A nice review of it here.

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

igCorcaigh · 22-10-2022 6:42pm

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 · 23-10-2022 1:11am

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 · 23-10-2022 4:55pm

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 · 23-10-2022 5:17pm

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 · 23-10-2022 9:41pm

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 · 24-10-2022 1:48pm

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.

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.

thefa · 24-10-2022 11:38pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119786910#Comment_119786910

I struggled for the first stage trying to figure out what it was trying to achieve but then got into it and the rest flew by but was likewise left down by the ending. Acting is strong and the look into island life was interesting. It’s a slow burner and funny only occasionally but enjoyable if in the mood for this kind of film.

The Princess Bride · 25-10-2022 7:39pm

I went to see it this afternoon, oh, the joy of only a few in the cinema, no distractions whatsoever.

I really enjoyed it, some brilliant characters and top class acting. Special mention to Jenny the donkey, and Colm's dog. I hope either or both get nominated for acting awards, because they shone throughout the film.

And anyone thinking it's dark? Of course it is, Martin McDonagh's middle name is Dark Humour, and he does it better than most.

cmac2009 · 26-10-2022 6:14pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119436310#Comment_119436310

Judging by the below quote from Mcdonagh in a recent guardian interview (great read) he would agree with you about 7 Psychopaths.

Saw this today and thought it was fantastic and deserving of the all the 5 star reviews. But I'm a fan of his work. Only critical comment was the ending felt a bit off.

"He’s still honest about his work, and chucks out “at least one thing every year or two” that isn’t up to scratch. Even after the event, he can reassess: he tells me that The Behanding in Spokane is “one of my **** plays” and says of Seven Psychopaths that he doesn’t think it works because he was trying too hard to make a “cool film”. “It ended up like an essay about the people instead of a film. I watched Bruges and Psychopaths back to back just before making Three Billboards, and I realised that I was with all the characters in Bruges. And that was the kind of film I wanted to keep making.”

silliussoddius · 26-10-2022 7:03pm

Sorry if I'm being Captain Obvious here, but Banshees give warnings/mourn for the dead and the translation of Inisherin would be Island of Ireland so would that add to the Civil War allegory?

NIMAN · 26-10-2022 7:25pm

So is this the best film ever made?

Listening to rte over the last week or so, it sounds like it is.

KilOit · 26-10-2022 7:31pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119796853#Comment_119796853

Not according to liveline listeners reasons very valid

🙄

https://extra.ie/2022/10/26/entertainment/liveline-banshees-of-inisherin

the 12 th man · 26-10-2022 7:41pm

It's a bit of an oddity of a movie I felt with the story very slow moving but with brilliant performances from the cast right down to the pets.

Gleeson's character was severely depressed/disturbed in the movie and I thought Farrell's character was a heartbeat away from being mentally slow in all his thoughts and deeds which doesn't really give great grounds for an In Bruges reprise.

Overall a bit over hyped but still a very entertaining watch.

johnny_ultimate · 26-10-2022 7:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119796880#Comment_119796880

I’d often argue that Metacritic / Rotten Tomatoes user reviews are the worst place to go for opinions on films, but to be fair Liveline caller reviews might be the absolute worst.

starkid · 27-10-2022 10:46am

its a good film well shot with nice humour and an original idea. I liked the reflection on Island life, the slowness of time, and quiet despair. Having read all of Synges Island diaries the life of that time (a bit before) is fascinating and something completely alien to modern Irish life.

I didn't find it that bleak at all, as it carries the subtle surrealism of alot of his work I actually found parts of Calvary (the brother i know) a better reflection on mood, ireland, landscape and time etc.

It is overrated thoughimo. Oscars? be cool if it happened, but really?

Also McDonaghs work doesn't sit as comfortably with me. Its perhaps an English version of Ireland. Subtly diddly aye and beholden to the greats before him. Criticism he baulked at when Conor McPherson said as much.

The Field is a far greater work, and written by an Irishman. The parallels are here. The village dunce (Keoghan/Hurt) the dim witted farm hand (bean/farrell) and the main man of town (Gleeson/Harris). The pub is to the forefront, and the village bears close resemblance. the sea and cliff scenes as well near the end.

Funnily enough the field was seen as too dark with American audiences, and that has impinged on Irish cinema ever since. The view of Ireland from abroad is this film, for better or worse. Ireland and its cinema can be only dark if its quirky and humorous. I'd say a true reflection of Aran Island life and say a take on Synges work wouldn't do well. which is a pity. You could have Revenant style cinema, based in/on Ireland quite easily.

The wonder looks interesting, a bleaker take on the Island.

all in all its great to see McDonagh want to make Irish films. and his parents live in Galway and as he saids himself growing up in the diaspora has probably made him more Irish than somebody living in Dublin.

yet give me the Field, or the lighthouse over this anyday.

PTH2009 · 27-10-2022 8:24pm

Saw this today and enjoyed it but didnt think it would be as bleak

as for The ending, pretty weak and never really explained wtf all the ignorance was for, Is it some ploy about irish island life been depressing but people cant escape it. So did yer man **** himself in the lake or did he fall in ?

The Banshees Of Inisherin

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