THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN seems to be fundamentally a story of how life on an isolated island can either dull your brain or drive you insane. (It is so dull that even the Irish Revolution going on at the time is perceived only at muted explosions heard across a wide expanse of water.) In the film, one of two close friends (played by Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell, who were also both in IN BRUGES, which was also written and directed by Martin McDonagh) suddenly decides that the other is too dull and no longer desirable as a friend. But the cast-off friend will not accept this. In some sense, each decides the other is on a different intellectual level. And a third character, a young boy (played by Barry Keoghan), seems to represent both aspects--not quite sane, and somewhat intellectually challenged. Their actions and reactions drive the plot, such as it is, but the film on the whole seems just a look at a very bleak lifestyle.

Released theatrically 4 November 2022. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10

Film Credits: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11813216/reference

What others are saying: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_banshees_of_inisherin

					Mark R. Leeper
					Copyright 2023 Mark R. Leeper