Directed by Martin McDonagh. Starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. 2022
There are very few films that can make an audience cry tears of laughter and sadness within minutes of each other, but Martin McDonagh manages it with apparent ease here. Banshees is his most mature and emotionally complex film yet.
Some of the shots and interiors look like they were taken straight from a Vermeer painting, capturing everyday life in its mundane beauty, a real distinct choice that makes the film feel so lived in and unique. Everything is so quiet and unassuming that you see on screen, and because of that it has a real beauty and also a underlying sadness, which is then reflected back in many of the lives of the characters.
Colm is a man struggling with his mental health and also battling the fear of not having a legacy to leave once he has died, scared he has wasted his life on “pointless chat” and makes drastic decisions because of this. This is something Banshees really explores with all its characters, the idea of being a good person in the moment v a long lasting legacy or art to leave behind, and being happy and content in your little life v searching out something bigger and brighter for yourself. In a wonderful scene where Colm argues that “no one remembers nice”, Padraic argues that his sister is nice and he will “remember her, always”. It is a very simple but devastating and compelling scene, that really reflects the wonderful and nuanced work that McDonagh does here.
It is very rare that in one film you can have four performances so fleshed out and impactful as we get here; Farrell, Gleeson, Keoghan and Condon all truly shine.
Farrell leads the cast with a deeply effecting and underplayed performance. He is a truly kind man, troubled by the sudden dislike his friend has for him and questioning his place on the island, as life becomes increasingly lonely for him.
Gleeson, full on silent fury and sadness here, turns what could have been a very one note villain role (not that McDonagh would ever write that), into something much more complex and harrowing.
Keoghan is one of our brightest rising stars and he is absolutely devastating here, and Kerry Condon is arguably the star of the show. A performance full of fire and heart and years of suffering. She is remarkable and will surely be a contender for awards later in the year.
Overall, Banshees is truly a unique and special film. Both hilarious and heartbreaking. Something that will stick with the viewer long after the lights have gone up.
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