I am not putting my donkey outside when I'm sad

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's top 50 films of 2022

#13 : The Banshees of Inisherin 

Guinness-black comedy of male pain in which Martin McDonagh reunites Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in remotest Ireland for an oddball study of isolation and hurt.

This was definitely on the list to watch - I love In Bruges and Three Billboards... and I even quite like Seven Psychopaths.  And who can argue with a bit of Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson?

Well - The Guardian gets it spot on with "an oddball study of isolation and hurt".  It's a surprisingly sad film which manages to be completely bonkers but still quite relatable.  Padraic (Colin Farrell) lives on a remote Irish island and doesn't have a lot in his life, so pretty much lives for his trips to the pub with Colm (Brendan Gleeson). Unfortunately, Colm has decided he doesn't want to be friends any more and the film revolves around Padraic and others' (include Colm's) attempts to process this situation.  And you know that things are even going to get sorted out or they're going to escalate - and given that it's a Martin McDonagh film, the chances of escalation are quite high...

...but you're totally going to have to watch it to find out what happens, because I'm not going to tell you!  It's quite the ride though - long periods of very little happening and then, all of a sudden, boom!  Some quite bizarre and shocking things happen though - expect the unexpected!

The film mostly focuses on Colin Farrell's character and he goes on quite the ride in this one with quite the range of emotions on display and he really sells them as you follow him every step of the way.  Brendan Gleeson's character is more constant in his position in that it is his actions that drive the story and he sticks to them, but he also sells the fact that his decisions are causing hurt in many people and maybe not bringing him the satisfaction he craves - until towards the end of the play when the dynamic somewhat changes.  Both actors are, as you'd expect, on top form throughout.

Also worthy of note is Barry Keoghan as Dominic - he's not quite the village idiot, but he's not far off and Barry really elicits sympathy for him.  Also excellent is Kerry Condon as Siobhan, Padraic's sister, who appears to be the only person on the whole island with any sense - she loves her brother, but sometimes love just isn't enough and you really feel for her.  And all four of them were nominated for Oscars - so it wasn't just me that appreciated their efforts.  Also worthy of note are Rosie and Jenny who are both excellent in their demanding role as Jenny the donkey - they really sell the role to you (and are also extremely cute - but, for some reason, not Oscar nominated).

The whole thing, as you'd expect from both a Martin McDonagh film and a film set in the wilds of Ireland, looks absolutely fantastic - there's some breathtaking scenery involved and the period features are also very well done.  It also has a lovely score - although I was surprised it opened with some Bulgarian folk music, which I recognised from La Mystere Des Voix Bulgares because I'm odd that way.

Taken at face value, the story is absolutely bonkers, but you know it's telling you something and I got some of it about the danger of making decisions without considering the impact on others and the risks of rigidly sticking to them no matter what else occurs.  I have to admit that I missed the parallels with the Irish civil war, but I think I can be forgiven that given I barely knew it happened.

The critics mostly loved it - one described it as a "finely crafted feel-bad treat" which seems a very apt description to me.  There were complaints, particularly from across the Irish sea, that it played to negative Oirish stereotypes and it's hard to argue with them, but you couldn't make a film like this if everyone behaved "normally" (whatever that is).  I can see that you could just as easily use negative English or American stereotypes and it would work equally well, but I guess he just went with what he knew (and the civil war gave it some extra relevance - I'm not sure you could translate it to the English or US civil wars quite so well).

I liked this film - it was just really well put together.  It looked gorgeous, featured great performances and it's stayed with me long after watching it.  It's desperately sad in a lot of ways, so it really makes you think - but it also makes you laugh, both in a sad "how ridiculous are we all?" kinda way, but also in a "that's a funny line!" kinda way.  I think it's well worth watching and at time of writing it's available to stream on Disney+ and to rent in all the usual places.

#14 - A great central performance
#12 - A must for Bowie fans