Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in "The Banshees of Inisherin"
I had heard and read some good things about "The Banshees of Inisherin", written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Consequently, I visited "The Showroom" cinema to see it on Tuesday afternoon.
Described as a black tragicomedy, it has received almost universal acclaim from the critics but I was left feeling somewhat underwhelmed. There were certain aspects of it that impressed me - such as the island setting on Ireland's Atlantic coast and the absurd nature of the relationship between the two main characters - Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) but at times it was downright silly. Did it belong to the real world or to some strange fantasy version?
One day Colm says he does not want to be friends with Pádraic any more. There's no particular reason for this. He just finds Pádraic boring. Colm is working on a fiddle composition called "The Banshees of Inisherin" - a title he has come up with simply because he likes the sound of it. He tells Pádraic that if he continues to bother him, he'll cut off his fingers one by one. Of course fingers are pretty useful for Irish fiddlers. Colm keeps his promise and ends up with a fingerless left hand.
It all left me feeling rather flat. I was unconvinced by the island community and how it all fitted together. What did people do and why was the pub so isolated - far from a village or any houses?
Perhaps the fault is with me and my expectations of depth and believability for it seems that "The Banshees of Inisherin" is destined to receive many prestigious awards. I went with an open mind, wanting to be thoroughly entertained but the truth of it is that I wasn't. Another of Martin McDonagh's films - "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri" (2017) was quite brilliant in my view, striking a happier balance between reality and the absurd while providing emotional meat to chew upon.
I've seen the trailer for this movie but was undecided. Maybe I'll give it a pass. I know my husband wouldn't like it, no shooting or slapstick humour. I also want him to watch "The Whale" with me so I'll save my ask for that movie.
ReplyDeleteSomebody I know said they found "The Banshees..." far too slow.
DeleteOh no. This looks so promising, and Three Billboards is one of my favorite films!
ReplyDeleteYou might like it. Maybe I have become an old curmudgeon Bob.
DeleteAh. I saw a long trailer for that film the last time we saw a film. It seemed odd how persistent the rejected character was to maintain a connection.
ReplyDeleteThe film lacked some of the logic we find in everyday living.
DeleteI read a review of that movie in the New Yorker, I think, and it pretty much agreed with your take on it. Some beautiful scenery, interesting plot line but...really?
ReplyDeleteI may skip that one.
Colin Farrell didn't really fit the part of Padraic either. Too healthy, handsome and intelligent-looking.
DeleteAn old pal said he wanted to know what Haggerty thought of The Banshees of Inisherin. This was at a school reunion.
ReplyDeleteI often ask myself what Orson Welles or Visconti or John Cassavetes or Vittorio de Sica or Godard would make of a puzzling film. I like enigmatic novels too.
Why does Colm tell Padraic that he no longer wishes his friendship?
Calling Padraic boring is what a child would say.
Colm is a psychopath and psychopaths are uninteresting which was what made The Silence of the Lambs an empty lurid story.
But then I have not seen The Banshees and as you said the critics adored it.
Do you remember Richard Harris & John Hurt in The Field?
For recent enigmatic novels ...
The Iliac Crest. Cristina Rivera Garza.
My Brother. Karin Smirnoff.
Untold Day and Night. Bae Suah.
Heaven and Hell. Jon Kalman Stefansson.
Strange Beasts of China. Yan Ge.
A Net of Small Fishes. Lucy Jago.
Life Sentences. Billy O'Callaghan.
A Memory Called Empire. Arkady Martine.
When We Cease To Understand the World. Benjamin Labatut.
Beyond the Hallowed Sky. Ken MacLeod.
The Tenth Muse. Catherine Chung.
Stranger to the Moon. Evelio Rosero.
Fever Dream. Samanta Schweblin.
I'm Waiting For You. Kim Bo-Young.
Marilou is Everywhere. Sarah Elaine Smith.
The Falling Thread. Adam O'Riordan.
Meet Me in Another Life. Catriona Silvey.
Bestiary. K-Ming Chang.
The Whistling. Rebecca Netley.
No Boys Play Here. Sally Bayley.
You Let Me In. Camilla Bruce.
Men and Apparitions. Lynne Tillman.
I Who Have Never Known Men. Jacqueline Harpman.
Passages. Anne Quinn.
Fracture. Andres Neuman.
The Room by Emma Donoghue (2010) has been republished and is a story no one ever forgets.
Emma's editor at Virago wept when she was told that Picador had made a higher bid for the MS.
A Bite of the Apple - A Life With Books and Virago by Lennie Goodings (2022).
I have read "The Room" and seen the film. Both were gripping experiences.
DeleteThe long list of books suggests that you have little time for chores like shopping and re-tiling the bathroom Padraic... sorry, I mean John!
Sure, Padraic is as grand a name as any, Neily.
DeleteColm is not a psychopath.
'Tis his own fingers he chops off, begob.
A lifetime of self-loathing, self-harming, mental illness.
This is an island story judging from the trailer & featurettes on YouTube.
Diarmaid Ferriter wrote a history of Ireland's off-shore islands:
*On the Edge* (2018/ 2020 paperback.) Wonderful book.
You could also read *The Coffin Roads* by Ian Bradley
My list is too long but some of your readers may spot one of them in a bookshop or look one up online.
I am always grateful for your own recommendations.
Next week I'm off to see The Banshees. I can taste the Guinness.
*The Octopus Man* by Jasper Gibson should not be forgotten, just out in paperback and a witty, unusual insight into mental illness.
The artwork on the cover reminded me of your photo of the jellyfish.
"On The Edge" sounds like a book I would enjoy. Though I taught English in tough comprehensive schools, I frequently veer towards travel and historical writing.
DeleteYou make a fair point about other visitors to this blog and it is a good reminder that comments are not necessarily mean to be part of a private two way dialogue.
On the Edge told me much about Aran and stories I had forgotten of J.M. Synge who visited the island in 1898.
Delete*The absence of the heavy boot of Europe has preserved to these people the agile walk of the wild animal,* Synge wrote.
The book told me much about Peadar O'Donnell, socialist republican and author of Islanders (1927) and The Island (1975) - a long writing life.
The Banshees of Inisherin had me reading Padraic O Conaire's 150 page novel *Exile* first published in 1910 and reissued in 2009 by Peter Owen.
O Conaire (no apostrophe in his name) died alone in Dublin in 1928, his sole possession a pipe, a plug of tobacco, an apple and a penknife.
I did not know you taught in tough schools as did David Storey in London.
Storey's posthumous memoirs was the highlight of my 2022 and I would enjoy seeing This Sporting Life again on the big screen.
"The Playboy of the Western World" that's the one that I recall. I have been to Inishmaan - the middle one of the Aran Isles and saw the cottage where Synge lived and wrote. He was only 37 years old when he died.
DeleteI very much disliked "Three Billboards" so I'm pretty sure I wouldn't enjoy this one.
ReplyDeleteWe all have our own tastes when it comes to film.
DeleteIt does not sound like something I would enjoy. Someone cutting someone else‘s fingers off for no valid reason? Not my idea of entertainment.
ReplyDeleteI guess I did not make it clear - Colm the fiddler cut off his own fingers with some shears. Strangely they did not go septic.
DeleteWhich one ends up with a fingerless hand? The fiddler? Doesn't sound like something I could watch.
ReplyDeleteYes. The fiddler cut off his own fingers.
DeleteI watched the trailer and recognised Inish Mor because I have been there. Stunning scenery. I liked Brendan in Paddington 2.
ReplyDeleteYes. Some filming happened on Inish Mor but more happened on Achill Island off County Mayo.
DeleteI really like Three Billboards but the premise of this movie, a fiddler cutting off his own fingers sounds absurd to me and kind of far fetched. But I guess if a painter can cut off his own ear...
ReplyDeleteHe cuts off his own fingers with rusty sheep shears and receives no medical attention. He's just left with bloody stumps. One of his discarded fingers kills Padraic's little donkey when it lodges in its throat.
DeleteNo, not one for me. I no longer care for the angst of such characters - and from your very last comments, to Ed, it sounds a dreadful film. I might enjoy the scenic bits, but then I could watch a travelogue or promotional video on You Tube, without the characters getting in the way.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say it was dreadful but not my cup of tea - that's for sure.
DeleteI'm so glad you wrote about this movie. I finally have someone with which to commiserate. My husband and I left the movie theatre with slumped shoulders and feet dragging. I insisted we go to the pub to see if a pint might lift our spirits. (It helped.) What a soul-crushing movie experience.
ReplyDeleteEqually it pleases me that my flat feeling was shared.
DeleteI remember these two in McDonagh's film "In Bruges," which I really liked. I'll probably see this one at some point, but thanks for your candid review!
ReplyDeleteTo tell you the truth I wasn't greatly enamoured with "In Bruges" either so you might like "Banshees..." Steve.
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