The Banshees of Inisherin Movie Review: Tragicomedy at its best

Director Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin is a story that takes its own sweet time to develop. Given it's the story of people who lead a similarly laidback life, this film’s approach—with all its dark humour—towards friendship and life makes it one of the best tragicomedies ever. Even for those brought up on a steady dose of friendship films, The Banshees of Inisherin comes as a pleasant change.

Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
Streaming on: Disney+ Hotstar

The core idea is this: What would you do if your best friend decides to end your friendship? McDonagh takes this elementary knot, places it at the end of the Irish Civil War, improves upon it with top-notch performances from its cast—especially Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson—and spices it all up with dark humour, resulting in one of the best films of the year.

Folk musician Colm Doherty (Gleeson) abruptly begins ignoring his dear mate Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell) as he finds his pal's mind to be dull and inhibitive of his own creative thinking. Colm believes in the timelessness of art while Pádraic believes in living in the moment. Fascinatingly, the shift in dynamics causes Pádraic's own life to get destabilised.

After McDonagh's collaboration with Farrell and Gleeson in 2008's hit black comedy, In Bruges, the trio returns this time to set camp at the fictional Ireland town of Insherin. Given the already proven chemistry between the two main characters, right off the bat, the break in friendship hits us and that's without even considering how it's all a metaphor for the civil war. While the screenplay is designed for us to feel pity for Pádraic and loathe Colm for his decision, as the film progresses, their actions make us feel differently.

What also works in favour of the film is how the secondary characters—be it Pádraic's sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) or the village simpleton Dominic (Barry Keoghan)—get their own arcs. If McDonagh demonstrated how he could make a crime drama around broken relationships in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, this time, he has proved once again how he can even milk humour out of the obscure.

On the surface, the film might feel like a simple black comedy with a few laugh-out-loud moments, but deep inside, The Banshees of Inisherin brings up a philosophical debate within us about the definition of friendship, the meaning of life, and whether we care to be remembered after our time. While we search for those answers outside and within us, it's safe to declare that this film will definitely be remembered for a long time.