The Banshees of Inisherin

Martin McDonagh expertly threads humour and pathos like a master weaver who knows exactly when to change colours.

The Banshees of Inisherin is not just a beautifully written screenplay. This deeply affecting, warmly humorous, beautifully acted and handsomely photographed (by Ben Davis) film is a major work and top of my list for the best film of 2022.

As a comedy duo, Farrell and Gleeson are money in the bank, just as they were in McDonagh’s first feature In Bruges. As a pairing of actor and filmmaker, Farrell and McDonagh are no less in sync.

Evocative cinematography and a gorgeous score make this a spellbinding men-gone-wrong fable.

The film toggles masterfully between comedy and tragedy; realism and fable. It manages to be both of the moment and completely timeless.

It's a gut punch of a comic-drama that keeps finding new ways to land hard-hitting body blows, and it's easily one of the year's very best films.

Brilliantly performed by Irish cinema’s favourite odd couple Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, Martin McDonagh's latest is as dark and absurd as any Samuel Beckett play.

...a low-key and often excessively deliberate endeavor that never quite becomes as engrossing or captivating as one might’ve anticipated...

The comedy is a veil for deep, complex themes that give “The Banshees of Inisherin” humour and pathos. Among these are measured explorations on toxic masculinity, loneliness, and purpose.

It’s a film that merrily embraces fairy tale elements, enveloping us in a grim fable where good and bad are murky concepts at best.