Banshees of Inisherin is a sneaky little movie that sidled up on me and said BOO at just the right moment to open up my appreciation. I was more-or-less on the movie’s side in a gentle, despondent, isolated kind of way… but when I realized what I think the movie is doing, I really got on its casually bonkers side.

The flick stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as life-long buddies on a go-nowhere isle off the coast of Ireland in the 1920. Gleeson’s character one day straight up decides not to be friends with Farrell any longer… Farrell doesn’t understand and won’t take a snubbing lying down. But Gleeson digs his feet in and issues an insane ultimatum… which he carries out when Farrell refuses to stop bothering him.

The ultimatum and its fallout are absolutely psychotic levels of bonkers. And if you read this movie exactly as it reads on the tin, I’m sure it’ll be mystifying and weird and darkly funny. But this can’t be what the movie is really about, right?

Pretty sure this is one great big metaphor for something general or possibly something very specific. It could be secretly about something in Irish history that I don’t know… but would still work generally too. Pretty sure the events are symbolic of civil conflict/disagreements/war as condensed down to two friends squabbling and doing drastic, insane amounts of (self) harm.

And when we bring in the concept of banshees and how maybe they don’t have to wail any longer so much as sit and watch, some of the side characters come into eerie stark relief. It’s not in-your-face, but it’s kind of chilling and surreal when you see it.

This is a super smart script in terms of its plotting but also in its gentle comedy of dialects and dialog. The film has an ear for how some people talk and while I’ve never been on an out-of-the-way Irish island in the 1920s, I’m guessing the script gets it right (though I suspect the accents are cleaned up so the rest of the world can understand what the feck they are saying).

I really enjoyed this film… though I enjoyed it less before I realized what it was doing. Or at least I think I realize it… it’s possible the movie is as straight-forward as can be. In which case, it’s extra bonkers and psychotic. But I enjoyed it more as a great big metaphor.

Score: 90