The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

This is an archived review originally published in the Justice, the independent newspaper of Brandeis University.

“I just don’t like ya no more.” Imagine your lifelong best friend wakes up one day and

decides they no longer want to be friends with you. This is how the fantastic Irish period

piece “Banshees of Inisherin” begins. Directed by Martin McDonagh, the creative mind behind the critically acclaimed films “In Bruges” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” this tragi-comedy unexpectedly became one of my favorite movies of 2022. Banshees takes place on an isolated Irish island called Inisherin during the Irish Civil War. There is a pub, a church, a small collection of houses, a post office, and a single policeman.

The protagonist, Padraic (Colin Farrell), lives with his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and pet pony Jenny, spending every day at the pub with his best friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson). He

lives a simple life. Padraic starts each day with his farm duties, and then at two o’clock, he

trudges down to the pub to have a drink with Colm. The movie begins on one of these

unremarkable days, but this time, things will be different. Colm suddenly refuses to talk to

Padraic. What comes after includes a dead pony, or donkey as everyone else seems to think, a missing set of five fingers, and a drowned village idiot.

The central conflict of “Banshees of Inisherin” rests on a single question: Is it better to

live a simple happy life or one of meaning and fulfillment? Colm and Siobhan wrestle with that throughout the film. His entire life, he chose the former, spending each day in blissful ignorance with Padraic. But as he reached the twilight of his life, or so he thought only being 60 years old, he began to question whether he had a responsibility to leave a legacy. As we learn, this is the reason he ended his relationship with Padraic. He views his ‘friend’ as an obstacle to a life of meaning. The film is largely told from the point of view of Padraic, not Colm, so while we gradually gain a sense of this internal battle, we instinctually side with our protagonist. Farrell’s tremendously grounded performance contributes to that. We sympathize with the simple, nice man that Padraic naturally is, experiencing the same sadness as his life falls apart. And unfortunately for him, as if the film could damage Padraic any further, his sister is suffering from the same internal struggle. Locked on an island, she feels her environment restricts her potential.

Her passion for literature and discovery is stifled. Like Colm, she makes the difficult choice to change, leaving Padraic behind in the process. In almost a week, Padraic has lost everyone important to him in his life. The true strength of the film lies in its characters, particularly Farrell’s. It is hard to explain the degree of empathy that I felt for him as the film progressed. With every rebuff by Colm, Padraic loses a bit of the person he was before. The happy guy McDonagh presents us with at the start is by the end a cold, shattered man. It is hard to watch. Farrell navigates the character in a way that forces us to viscerally experience that change. His body language shifts. He no longer gives his classic Padraic smile. He has, in a sense, lost his soul. At this point, for the audience, it becomes impossible to sympathize with Colm. Gleeson’s character has inflicted such pain on Padraic that, despite the logic of Colm’s reasoning, it is inexcusable what he did. In pursuit of personal satisfaction, he has destroyed his friend. Inexplicably, when the film fades to black, we are not sad for the person Padraic has become, but for the person he was.

“Banshees of Inisherin” has seriously affected me. Even a week later, it has not left my

mind. Colm and Padraic’s struggle made me evaluate and consider the relationships in this new context. Why am I friends with my friends? Is it for the good times, or because we share similar traits and values? I have never watched a film that has, a week later, caused me to change the way I perceive my world. The lessons of the tragedy that befell Padraic also remain. Without all of the people that made Padraic who he was, what was left of him? The film forced me to confront those questions. I wholeheartedly endorse watching this film, but I warn that it is a difficult experience to endure.