The Banshees of Inisherin

The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martin McDonagh
Written by	Martin McDonagh
Produced by	Graham Broadbent; Peter Czernin; Martin McDonagh;
Starring	Colin Farrell; Brendan Gleeson; Kerry Condon; Barry Keoghan;
Cinematography	Ben Davis
Edited by	Mikkel E. G. Nielsen
Music by	Carter Burwell
Production; companies	Film4 Productions; Blueprint Pictures; TSG Entertainment;
Distributed by	Searchlight Pictures
Release dates	5 September 2022 (Venice); 21 October 2022 (Ireland/United Kingdom/United States);
Running time	114 minutes
Countries	Ireland; United Kingdom; United States;
Language	English
Box office	$30 million

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way

The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 dark tragicomedy film written, directed, and co-produced by Martin McDonagh.^[5]^[6] Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, the film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them; Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan also star. It reunites Farrell and Gleeson, who previously worked together on McDonagh's directorial debut In Bruges (2008).^[7]^[8]

The Banshees of Inisherin had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2022, where Farrell won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and McDonagh won the Golden Osella for Best Screenplay.^[9] It was theatrically released in Ireland, the United Kingdom, and United States on 21 October 2022, by Searchlight Pictures. The film received critical acclaim, with particular praise towards McDonagh's screenplay and direction, Carter Burwell's score, and the performances of the main cast.

The film received nine nominations at the 95th Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Farrell), Best Supporting Actor (Gleeson and Keoghan), Best Supporting Actress (Condon) and Best Original Screenplay.^[10] At the 80th Golden Globe Awards, it achieved three wins from eight nominations: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor – Musical or Comedy (Farrell), and Best Screenplay.^[11] At the 29th Screen Actors Guild Awards, the film received five nominations, alongside Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), tying the record for the most nominations previously set by Shakespeare in Love (1998), Chicago (2002), and Doubt (2008).^[12] It was also named one of the Top Ten Films of 2022 by the National Board of Review.^[13]

Discover more about The Banshees of Inisherin related topics

Plot

At the tail end of the Irish Civil War in 1923, on the fictional Irish isle of Inisherin, folk musician Colm Doherty abruptly begins ignoring his lifelong friend and drinking buddy Pádraic Súilleabháin. Pádraic, though nice and well liked by the islanders, is too "dull" for Colm, who wishes to spend the remainder of his life composing music and doing things for which he will be remembered. Pádraic's life is destabilised by the loss of one of his few friends; as Pádraic grows increasingly distressed at the rejection, Colm becomes more resistant to his old friend's attempts to speak to him. Colm eventually gives Pádraic an ultimatum: every time Pádraic bothers him or tries to talk with him, Colm will cut off one of his own left fingers with a pair of sheep shears.

The local Garda, Peadar, beats his troubled son Dominic severely, and Pádraic and his sister Siobhán take him in for a short time. Later in the pub, Peadar insults Pádraic, who retaliates by making public the fact that he beats his son and sexually abuses him as well.

After Pádraic delivers milk to the market, Peadar accosts him and strikes him twice, knocking him to the ground nearly unconscious. Colm witnesses this. Wordlessly he lifts Pádraic back into his wagon and drives it back toward their homes. On the way, Pádraic breaks down sobbing. Colm pulls the wagon to a stop at a fork in the road, and gets out to walk down the right path toward his house, leaving Pádraic to guide his wagon along the left path to his.

Though Siobhán and Dominic attempt to defuse the pair's escalating battle, their efforts prove fruitless. Pádraic, drunk, confronts Colm in the pub. Colm remarks that this is the most interesting Pádraic has been, and to himself mutters, "Maybe I do like him." Dominic tells Pádraic about what Pádraic said and Colm's reply, and Pádraic goes to Colm's house to apologise. Colm rejects him, and later cuts off one of his fingers and throws it at Pádraic's door.

After Pádraic sees Colm meeting with a fiddler from the mainland, Pádraic tricks the fiddler into returning home by lying about his father being hit by a bread van. As the tensions worsen, local elder Mrs. McCormick warns Pádraic that death will come to the island soon. Meanwhile, Siobhán gently rejects Dominic's romantic advances.

Pádraic tells Dominic about what he did to the fiddler, and Dominic says that Pádraic is no longer nice. Pádraic becomes convinced that this will make him interesting enough for Colm, and he visits Colm to reprimand him for behaving so badly. They converse awkwardly, and Colm reveals that he has finished composing his song, which he calls "The Banshees of Inisherin". Pádraic suggests that he should go ahead to the pub and order them a couple of pints. Colm says that would be fine. Pádraic tells Colm about lying to the fiddler to run him off the island, and that perhaps all three of them could have drinks. Pádraic waits in vain at the pub, drinking many pints. Colm cuts off his remaining left fingers with the shears and throws them at the door of Padraic's cottage.

Sick of life on the island, Siobhán moves to the mainland for a job in a library. Pádraic comes home to find his pet donkey Jenny has choked on one of the fingers and died. A heartbroken Pádraic blames Colm for Jenny's death. He confronts Colm and tells him he will burn his house down the next day at 2pm, and that he doesn't care if Colm is in the house at the time or not, but that he hopes Colm will ensure that his dog is outside, as the dog has done nothing to Pádraic. The next day at 2pm as promised, Pádraic sets fire to Colm's house. The dog is sitting outside the door, and Pádraic puts it in his wagon to take home. Only after setting the house on fire, Pádraic looks in a window and sees Colm calmly sitting inside the burning building. Peadar goes to Pádraic's house, presumably to arrest him or beat him. He is diverted away by Mrs. McCormick, who wordlessly leads him to Dominic's corpse floating in the nearby lake.

The next morning, Pádraic, with the dog, finds Colm standing on the beach beside his burnt-out house. Colm apologises for Jenny's death and suggests destroying the house has ended their feud, but Pádraic informs him that it only would have ended if he had stayed inside the house. When Colm wonders if the Civil War has ended, Pádraic states he believes it may be a good thing that there are some things that cannot be moved on from. As Pádraic turns to leave, Colm thanks him for looking after his dog; "Any time", Pádraic replies. Unbeknownst to them, Mrs. McCormick is watching them from a distance by Colm's burned cottage.

Discover more about Plot related topics

Cast

The film's stars, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson

Colin Farrell as Pádraic Súilleabháin
Brendan Gleeson as Colm Doherty
Kerry Condon as Siobhán Súilleabháin
Barry Keoghan as Dominic Kearney
Gary Lydon as Garda Peadar Kearney
Pat Shortt as publican Jonjo Devine
Sheila Flitton as Mrs. McCormick
Bríd Ní Neachtain as postmistress Mrs. O'Riordan
Jon Kenny as Gerry
Aaron Monaghan as Declan
David Pearse as priest
Lasairfhíona Ní Chonaola as female singer
John Carty as older musician 1

Discover more about Cast related topics

Production

In February 2020, Martin McDonagh was reported to have set his next directorial effort up with Searchlight Pictures, and it would see him reunite with his In Bruges stars Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell.^[7]^[8] In August 2021, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan were added to the cast.^[14]^[15]

Principal photography began in August 2021 in Inishmore (Inis Mór) before moving to Achill Island, County Mayo, later that month.^[16] Locations used on Achill include Cloughmore (JJ Devine's Pub), Corrymore Lake (Mrs. McCormick's cottage), Keem Bay (Colm Doherty's house), Purteen Harbour (O'Riordan's shop), and St. Thomas's Church in Dugort.^[17]^[18]^[19] Filming wrapped on 23 October 2021.^[20]

Discover more about Production related topics

Music

The original score is composed by Carter Burwell, McDonagh's frequent collaborator. McDonagh did not want Burwell to compose an "Irish-based" score despite the film's setting.^[21]^[22]^[23] For Pádraic's character, Burwell approached a "child-like" and "Disney character" based score, and also used fiddle-themed compositions for Colm.^[24] The film's soundtrack was digitally released by Hollywood Records on 21 October 2022 along with the film.^[25]

Discover more about Music related topics

Release

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Martin McDonagh at the premiere of the film at the 66th BFI London Film Festival

The Banshees of Inisherin had its world premiere at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2022 where it received a 15-minute standing ovation from the audience, the longest of that year's festival.^[26]^[27] It also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival that same month and was screened as the opening night film of the 31st Philadelphia Film Festival on 19 October 2022.^[28] It was theatrically released on 21 October 2022.^[29]

The film was released on rental PVOD and made available to stream on HBO Max on 13 December 2022, and was released on Blu-ray and DVD on 20 December 2022 by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment and Disney / Buena Vista.^[30]^[31]^[32]

The film was released on Disney+ as part of the Star content hub in selected regions on 14 December 2022, and 21 December 2022 in the United Kingdom and Ireland.^[33] The film was also released on Disney+ Hotstar in India on 14 December 2022.^[34]

The film returned to theaters in the United States on January 27, 2023 to celebrate its Academy Award nominations.^[35]

Discover more about Release related topics

Reception

Box office

As of 27 January 2023^[update], The Banshees of Inisherin has grossed $9.6 million in the United States and Canada, and $20.5 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $30 million.^[3]^[4]

In the film's opening weekend in the U.S. it made $184,454 from four theaters, for a per-venue average of $46,113, making it the second-highest grossing opener for a Fall 2022 platform release, behind Till.^[36] The following weekend the film expanded to 58 theaters, making $535,170.^[37] The following weekend it expanded to 895 theaters, making $2.1 million and finishing seventh at the box office.^[38] These results were attributed to the increasing change in audience behavior towards prestige films in a moviegoing environment altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, where moviegoers would refuse to see and support these particular titles in favor of franchise and straight-forward horror films.^[39]^[40]

Critical response

The performances of (left to right) Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan received critical acclaim, with all four being nominated for Academy Awards.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 97% of 316 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "Featuring some of Martin McDonagh's finest work and a pair of outstanding lead performances, The Banshees of Inisherin is a finely crafted feel-bad treat."^[41] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 87 out of 100, based on 62 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".^[42]

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian gave the film four out of five stars writing that "as a study of male loneliness and swallowed anger it is weirdly compelling and often very funny".^[43] Todd McCarthy from Deadline Hollywood wrote that the film was "a simple and diabolical tale of a friendship's end shot through with bristling humor and sudden moments of startling violence"; he also praised Ben Davis' cinematography and Carter Burwell's score.^[44] David Ehrlich from IndieWire rated it B+, writing that "its constant undercurrent of humor affords the story's most pressing questions an appropriately ridiculous context, one that speaks to the absurdities of all existence". He also called it McDonagh's best work since In Bruges.^[45]

Matthew Creith from Screen Rant noted the film's "demonstration of the metaphorical aspects of civil disobedience and internal protest between a set of individuals is remarkably hilarious".^[46] The New York Times' Kyle Buchanan wrote: "The film was rapturously received here in Venice, earning a lengthy standing ovation and rave reviews."^[47] In a review for Variety, Guy Lodge wrote: "What begins as a doleful, anecdotal narrative becomes something closer to mythic in its rage and resonance: McDonagh has long fixated on the most visceral, vengeful extremes of human behavior, but never has he formed something this sorely heartbroken from that fascination."^[48]

David Rooney from The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a ruminative ensemble piece that expertly balances the tragicomic with the macabre, inhabiting territory adjacent to McDonagh's stage work yet also sweepingly cinematic".^[49] Robbie Collin of The Telegraph awarded it 5/5 stars and described it as "an often shoulder-shudderingly funny film, whose comic dialogue is dazzlingly designed and performed".^[50]

Conversely, Mark Feeney, writing for The Boston Globe, gave an unenthusiastic review, describing it as "a short story trying to be a novel" and calling the metaphor for the Irish Civil War "awfully flat-footed".^[51] Mark O'Connell from Slate criticized the characters in the film for what he considered their portrayal of "Irishness", and noted that this aspect of the film might pass non-Irish critics, writing that "it's worth noting, though maybe not surprising, that international critics have failed to take issue with its deployment of the hoariest Irish stereotypes".^[52]