The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) Channel4, Film4, written and directed by Martin McDonagh.

https://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-banshees-of-inisherin

Critically acclaimed The Banshees of Inisherin reunited Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson with Richard McDonagh after their successful collaboration on  In Bruges.  

McDonagh’s repertoire of works also includes award winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and this was classified as a return to his roots.

 You get the message. This was or is a great film. One of the classics. To be watched again and again.

I’m no fan of McDonagh’s work such as In Bruge, Three Billboards or Seven Psychopaths (also known as Trump and his Racist Friends).  The Banshees of Inisherin is tagged in the usual way McDonagh’s narratives are as ‘darkly humorous,’ but it’s just Father Ted stuck on Craggy Island but without the jokes. I see the darkness but I didn’t laugh once. And it’s that old cliché, non-joke, if there’s a light coming it’s an ongoing train.   

McDonagh’s screenplays starts with a simple premise or what if, often which are tied in with small-town morality and themes that could fit comfortably with Greek tragedy.

He often uses many of the same actors. Critics term in natural chemistry. I thought that was what actors do, or are meant to. I’m a fan of Lee Marvin’s explanation of what he did. The director asks me to look one way. I look that way. He (it was male directors in those days) asks me to look another. I look that way. He asks me to fall off a horse. I fall off a horse.

Here’s a breakdown of the inciting incidents in Martin McDonagh's films and how they unfold:

In Bruges (2008). The inciting incident occurs when hired killers Ray and Ken are sent to Bruges following a botched murder attempt, which meant a deadly assailant was still alive. This sets the stage for an exploration of loneliness, guilt, redemption, and violence. All the usual ingredients as Ray grapples with buyer’s remorse and Ken faces a moral dilemma.

Seven Psychopaths (2012). The story kicks off when a struggling screenwriter, Marty, becomes entangled in a criminal underworld after his friend steals a gangster’s Shih Tzu.

Both a donkey and a collie dog also act as beloved pets and threats to them up the ante in Inisherin.  When your best friend is an animal...

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017): The inciting incident occurs when grieving mother Mildred (Frances McDormand, who won an Oscar for her performance) rents three billboards (of the title) to call out local law enforcement for failing to solve her daughter’s murder. She’s also calling out townsfolk (those that no doubt voted for Trump) to confront their own flaws and prejudices.

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022). The story begins when Colm (Brendan Gleeson) abruptly ends his friendship with Pádraic (Colin Farrell).

This decision leads to several stages of grief (on my part), misunderstandings, and conflicts that ramp up the storyline.

In ancient Greek literature, self-mutilation often symbolized extreme emotional states or moral dilemmas. For example: Sophocles' Oedipus Rex. Oedipus blindness is as an act of penance and self-punishment. This reflects the Greek belief in acts of hubris (before Trump obviously) and the moral consequences of defying divine will.

We don’t need to be Sylvia Plath or to have read The Bell Jar to know that the epidemic of female mutilation, in particular, anorexia and bulimia to know that mental health wards are filling with youngsters. And that Amy Whitehouse is an aging example.   

What donkeys are we? Darkly humorous ones. Bullshit.

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