Some movies are made to entertain, while others are made to move you or make you think about our world and one's place in it. I have always gravitated to the latter, and Banshees of Inisherin sits firmly in that camp.
At face value, the film is about the sudden falling out and estrangement of two men from Ireland in the 1920s, who had once been the closest of friends. The rift, at first, seems inexplicable, especially to one of the men named Padraic played by Colin Farrell. His friend, Colm - played by Brendan Gleeson - proceeds to tell him that there was no major row - just that he has become tired of him and no longer has time for him.
The real heart and soul of the film though is Padraic's sister Siobhan, played by Kerri Condon. Like Farrell and Gleason, Condon is nominated for an Oscar, and she just might win it. Her performance cuts past the two friends' falling out and remind us that - deep down - we all long to grow, find purpose, and achieve our dreams. Her salvation is books and all things literary, and books provide her a way out.
The men, on the other hand, do not seem to have the same purpose and are blinded by their perceived differences and desire for revenge. The senselessness of this is captured in a few moments of violence and self-mutilation that is an allegory for the wider conflict zone in which these characters find themselves.
I will not spoil the ending or the deeper meaning. Suffice it to say, I did not need to read a review to understand just what the director/screenwriter Martin McDonagh had intended to portray with this beautiful film. The truth was right before our eyes - in all its brutal reality.
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