The Banshees of Inisherin – Film Review

On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic is devastated when his buddy Colm suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With help from his sister and a troubled young islander, Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, as Colm’s resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences.

It’s genuinely kind of amazing that Martin McDonagh was able to create an entire feature film based on the premise of two best friends who just suddenly aren’t anymore, even if it’s one-sided. Pádraic Súilleabháin and his best friend Colm Doherty go to the pub to chat it up almost every single day and then one day when Pádraic goes to pick him up one day, he finds out that Colm wants nothing to do with him, which leaves Pádraic to have to figure out what happened.

If I were to try and write this movie, I wouldn’t make it past page one. Thankfully, McDonagh was in charge of this movie and he made it one of the best of the entire year. It’s an extremely intimate, hilarious, and oftentimes tragic look at what it means to truly lose a best friend.

We’ve all had best friends in our lives. Maybe you’re still super close with that friend all these years later or maybe you’re not. The Banshees of Inisherin showcases just how painful it can be to slowly but surely lose that friend right in real-time. What would it feel like to have your lifelong best friend suddenly want nothing to do with you? It’s extremely gut-wrenching.

There’s a scene early on in this movie in which Pádraic goes to sit down near Colm and the latter moves away to a different seat, much to the pain and shock of Pádraic, who’s just trying to relax and have a fun day with his best friend. But this movie isn’t all doom and gloom – it has its fair share of seriously hilarious moments sprinkled throughout as well.

When you really boil it down, The Banshees of Inisherin is one of those movies that will give you every single emotion and because of that, it can feel like a lot at times. But the good thing is that it’s so rewatchable that you’ll want to revisit it again and again. It’s one of those movies where, upon rewatch, you’re sure to pick up on new things you missed on your first viewing as well.

And it would be a sin not to mention this film’s truly brilliant lead performances from both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson; two of the most wonderful actors in the world. Here, it’s hard not to feel sympathy for Farrell’s character Pádraic, in a role that feels perfectly cast.

As for Gleeson, he’s a character that you desperately want to get to the bottom of. Why is he suddenly acting so rude toward his best friend? Is there something much deeper and darker going on inside of his head that’s causing him to shut his friend out, or has his personality simply changed? Gleeson portrays this character masterfully in a film that’s already masterful enough as is.

The Banshees of Inisherin is an intimate, hilarious, and oftentimes downright tragic look at what it truly means to lose a best friend.