It’s that time of year again – Awards Season. This is when all the artsy fartsy movies start hitting theaters, and some critics become snobs which a lot of people find exasperating, myself included. Sure, a film like Drive My Car is going to get OUR juices flowing, but the average person isn’t going to want to sit through a three-hour, subtitled film about a Japanese man staging a multi-lingual performance of Uncle Vanya while learning how to grieve the death of his unfaithful wife. It’s a fantastic movie but not one for the masses. Every so often, however, an Oscar bait film does slip in that will appeal to people of all walks of life, and The Banshees of Inisherin does just that. Equal parts comedy and drama, every frame of it is beautiful and should be enjoyed by everyone and not just us hoity toity critics.
Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) is a simple man, and by simple, I mean stupid. He spends the majority of his days drinking at the pub with his best friend Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) without a care in the world. At least until one day when Colm doesn’t show up at their usual time, and when he finally does, he refuses to speak with or even acknowledge him. Bewildered, he finally discovers that his “best friend” finds him a simple and boring person and would prefer to spend his remaining years with more intellectually stimulating people. Pádraic just doesn’t get it, however, and continues to badger him, trying to regain his friendship even if it means creating an enmity between the two that will lead to the spilling of blood and even death.
There was a film called The Lobster (coincidentally also starring Colin Farrell) that came out a few years back that was written and directed by Yorgos Lanthimos which can only be described as an exercise in absurdity. If you have seen that, you will notice a lot of its influences in Banshees. Simply put, the level of stupidity that Pádraic rises to is downright ridiculous and at times, painful to watch. If you’re someone who gets embarrassed by seeing people in awkward situations, you’ll probably be cringing throughout. In fact, there are moments you’ll just want to reach through the screen, slap him, and ask what the hell is wrong with him. It’s that bad.
With that said, though, this is a biting and dark comedy that will have people laughing throughout. Barely a minute or two passes without something happening that isn’t outright hilarious. Granted, there are some things that you probably shouldn’t be laughing at, but it doesn’t change the fact that it’s much funnier than you would think an arthouse movie has any right to be.
It does wear its indie film pedigree on its sleeve but not in an obnoxious or annoying way. If you want to simply see it for a good laugh, that’s perfectly fine, but there is a lot more going on beneath the surface. The excellent filmmaking aspects of it aside, beneath its layer of comedy is a deep, philosophical discussion about life, death, and a person’s lasting legacy. You don’t have to delve into that mine if you don’t want to, but there is a lot to discuss if you take a closer look.
As much as this is typical, movie fare for this time of year, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s an outstanding and nearly flawless film. Much like a diamond, you can tell that it was meticulously cut and polished in order to unleash the fire that resides within. Its memorable characters, brutally dark comedy, and universal themes will haunt you long after you leave the theater, but unlike a normal banshee, this story is told with a whisper and a wink and not a wail which only makes it that much more effective and magical.