The Banshees of Inisherin movie review

MOVIE TITLE: The Banshees of Inisherin

This dark comedy is now available on HBO Max.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 54 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: A

IN A NUTSHELL:

The movie was written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Already, it has been nominated for a Golden Globe and garnered Oscar Buzz. When it premiered at the 2022 Venice International Film Festival, it received a 15-minute standing ovation!

The story is Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland and follows lifelong friends Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship. A stunned Padraic, aided by his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavors to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Padraic’s repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend’s resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.

THINGS I LIKED:

The talented cast is absolutely fantastic and knocks it out of the park. You’ll see great performances by all but especially by Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan. All four of them are actually from Ireland in real life!
Director Martin McDonagh really loves pairing Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson together. They all worked together on In Bruges in 2008.
We get to travel to a small island off the coast of Ireland and see some beautiful countryside. Those cliffs are gorgeous, but I would never get that close to the edge as several characters do!
There is a fascinating blend of humor perfectly balanced with tragedy.
A banshee is an anglicized word for “bean si” which is the Irish word for a woman fairy who tells the death of a family member by screaming or wailing. Brendan Gleeson’s character writes a song on the violin and says the title is “The Banshees of Inisherin” but we also see an old woman foretell the death of two characters.
Fun fact: An old man hand-knit sweaters for all of the main characters!

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

It’s really hard to understand what everyone says because of the thick accents. This is a movie you’ll want to watch with the captions turned on.
Some say that this movie is about the Irish Civil War. Did you catch that? Some viewers will just think the entire film is odd and unrealistic. What do YOU think?

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be bored.
We hear lots of Irish profanity, including F-bombs. We hear the word “feckin” a million times.
We see severed, bloodied fingers
We see the aftereffect of a man who claims he was beaten up by his father.

THEMES:

Friendship
Companionship
Loneliness
Being nice
Wanting to make an impact on the world
Jealousy
Alienation
Mortality
Ambition
Silence
Self-mutilation
Holding a grudge

FUNNY LINES:

“I’d dance with my dog if she knew how.” – Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell)
“You used to be nice or did you never used to be?” – Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell) The character’s name is the Gaelic spelling for “Patrick Sullivan.”
“I’m not putting the donkey outside when I’m sad.” – Padraic Suilleabhain (Colin Farrell)
“I wasn’t trying to be nice. I was trying to be accurate.” – Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton)