The Banshees of Inisherin | On the Road to Wild Horse Nine

Martin McDonagh’s new film Wild Horse Nine arrives in cinemas on 5 November. Ahead of its release, Natlab returns to his previous film: the tragicomic island feud The Banshees of Inisherin.

On the remote Irish island of Inisherin, Pádraic calls for his best friend Colm every afternoon. Until one day, Colm refuses to open the door. He no longer wants to be friends, and as far as he is concerned, that is the end of the matter. Pádraic is bewildered and tries to repair the friendship with the help of his sister Siobhán and the young Dominic. The harder he pushes, the more determined Colm becomes. An everyday rejection grows into a dispute with increasingly grim consequences.

Martin McDonagh constantly allows humour and tragedy to rub against each other. The conversations are dry, the silences painful, and behind the stubbornness of both men lie larger questions. How do you deal with a life that is passing you by? What will you leave behind? And can you force someone to keep giving your life meaning?

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite after In Bruges. Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan complete the island community as two outsiders who are each trying to escape its confines. In the distance, the Irish Civil War continues, a larger conflict that makes Pádraic and Colm’s feud seem both increasingly absurd and painfully familiar.

The Banshees of Inisherin received nine Academy Award nominations and became one of McDonagh’s most celebrated films. In Wild Horse Nine, he exchanges 1923 Ireland for Easter Island shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup. The setting and history may have changed, but McDonagh’s fascination with guilt, regret and people driving one another to extremes remains firmly intact.