Pádraic and Colm
When dissatisfied with spending his future hanging out with Dominic, the lecherous son of the local policeman Inisherin (a remote fictional island in Ireland), with Jenny the donkey, Pádraic Súilleabháin, a simple but optimistic Inisherin guy, keeps pushing his best friend, Colm Doherty. Even though he kept shoving Colm, he said that Colm didn’t like him anymore bluntly. Before vowing to cut off a finger on his hand that played the violin every day, Pádraic kept talking to him; the ending of a relationship would seldom go smoothly.
When the two sides made such a decision, Pádraic was shocked to learn that Colm no longer wanted to associate with him for no reason. In 1923, a cold war began between the two. As an alternative, Pádraic then becomes sad, angry, and unhappy because he can’t understand Colm’s sudden change of heart. He then tried to reason with him. However, this disappointed his sister, Siobhán, who preferred him to look after Jenny alone.
Directed by Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin opens its narrative with a smile. However, unquestionably, it is more toward fire and self-mutilation. Whenever Pádraic visited Colm, he didn’t answer when he knocked at two o’clock in the afternoon as Pádraic usually did.
Sudden Change of Heart
At a pint or three at the local pub, Colm is commonly seen. Except, he would always ignore Pádraic’s presence. Confused, he went home to explain to his sister what had happened. In a joking tone, she only said Colm no longer liked Pádraic. At the pub, Pádraic could only take another seat on orders from Colm. However, he didn’t do or say anything wrong. In short, he exactly didn’t like Pádraic anymore.
Indeed, Colm just wanted to spend his time and the rest of his life creating his legacy and writing music on the violin. Having an artistic nature inside, it’s no wonder they were friends from the start. The two men have little in common. When Colm says he no longer has a place in his life for stupidity, Pádraic faces the kind of suffering that McDonagh has explored before, like In Bruges. After delivering magnificent performances in The Batman and After Yang, McDonagh gave Colin Farrell one of his most capacious yet entertaining roles.
Pádraic is a simple but friendly personality. He likes a glass of beer with a chat. However, he was unable, naturally, to understand Colm’s sudden change of heart.
McDonagh’s Existential Gloom
Apart from being an expressive actor, Farrell can well-communicate precisely with his eyebrow movements. Likewise, the way Farrell walks along the country lanes and his sibling relationship with Siobhán; provides a sweet contrast between his antagonism and Colm. When Siobhán contemplates leaving Inisherin, as usual, Barry Keoghan arrives as the agent of chaos that sparks.
He lurks under the tragedy and chipper Dominic, interfering on the outside for reasons other than Colm doesn’t want to be friends with Pádraic. Such stakes are slightly lower than McDonagh’s screen or stage work. In Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, McDonagh focuses more on an exploration of murder, rape, suicide, and racist police. However, The Banshees of Inisherin certainly displays a characteristic sarcastic wit with keen observation.
It tells the ins and outs of friendship where Brendan Gleeson and Farrell become one of the all-time great couples on screen. Plus, McDonagh has written a deep study of the bittersweet twilight and small town of a long friendship. Like Three Billboards, a melancholy yet affectionate folk tale about pleasantries and social country life serves it. The film is like an Irish fairytale in that it gives the story an almost idyllic performance was it not for its visually existential gloom.
Civil War
Nevertheless, it is an allegory for a Civil War. While questions remain about its lessons, few people in Inisherin understand or care about such a conflict. They just wanted to live quiet lives; it didn’t matter who won. It could be that Colm represented the Irish Republican Army, while Pádraic represented the Free State would be satisfied with the illusion of freedom. They will always be willing to stand against British rule for their dignity, whether it’s about living an active life.
Whether by refusing to be complacent or leaving behind a legacy, Colm’s desire and passion for creating timeless art different from Pádraic’s. However, it also serves as the mythological creatures of the title who mourn the death of their loved ones. With its haunting screams, The Banshees of Inisherin has many lonely observations from the animals seemingly watching humans from out the window, the Inisherins being passive spectators of all the fighting, to the townspeople watching the conflict between Colm and Pádraic escalate.
McDonagh embodies the beauty of Achill Island—where he shot the film—as well as the rugged beauty of Inisherin, reflected in the stunning cinematography yet tough on the existential gloom, especially of Colm’s character.
Feelings of Hopelessness
The subtle mix of humanity we observe visually and sourly understated and discreetly means that the more dramatic the beat, the louder it is. The occasional bloody moments are shocking because of the rare times McDonagh employs them. After all, war was raging between the Irish Republican Army and the Irish Free State. It wouldn’t be a McDonagh film without a bit of darkness; it exists in the copper island’s form that threatens Peadar Kearney.
Like an unpleasant prediction Mrs. McCormick, Inisherin sits comfortably. They could only observe the battle with mild interest, as another option seeing the bickering of the townspeople who were not much different. Thus, the dissolution of Colm’s friendship would continue to disrupt Pádraic’s understanding of the worldly order. The Banshees of Inisherin admit that Inisherin is not an ideal place for Colm.
He just wanted to find cultured friends or passionate conversation. In one scene, he might amuse himself by preventing the inevitable. In his gesture of artistic commitment, Colm could have been depressed or bored by Inisherin. An actual problem was when the local priest asked him how desperate he was. Pádraic lacks despair doesn’t justify Colm’s transparent feelings of hopelessness.
The Amusement
If he felt pressured, Pádraic wondered with amusement why he didn’t just press it. Such comic barbs make the film’s scenario especially suitable yet humorous for sufferers of depression. It’s like being friends with it. On the other hand, Siobhán faces the same problem as Colm. However, she is slightly sane in being immersed in her world. Kerry Condon created a character we can’t doubt.
She becomes the “sanest” person on the island of all the Inisherins. In another scene, she asks Pádraic if she is never lonely. He has his (almost) best friend, Jenny, and his sister. While that suffices, it might be smaller than McDonagh’s last two Hollywood projects. However, the film is proof of his talent in chemistry and dialogue without knowing boundaries. It talks about the scary thoughts that everyone has at one point or another.
At least for Pádraic, he has a very charismatic miniature donkey to cheer him up. However, this sad but touching story of communication failure is one of the best breakup films in 2022. It’s like watching an argument or cold war between SpongeBob and Patrick. In many ways, too, McDonagh takes a keen reference from In Bruges.
The Clash
Both focus on the relatively restrained conflict between two characters stuck in what appear to be competing yet beautiful worldviews. In the film, a clash occurs between the hitman and the gentleman. They are assigned to go into hiding after a job goes sideways. Both characters have a moral code that is as demanding and rigid as Colm and Pádraic. Most of McDonagh’s works involve a moral conflict between the two parties.
We can’t be sure whether to grimace or laugh. In supporting one character over another, there is never an objective answer. Given its lyrical dialogue and small scale, the film’s brand of tragicomedy is diabolical. The Banshees of Inisherin is a testament to the mutual power of McDonagh, Farrell, and Gleeson. They seek to peer into how the master storyteller’s approach to basic creative themes, either loneliness or redemption, evolves.
After all, McDonagh has always posed an existential question about the point of living. Like Farrell’s character, he reveals the changing minds of filmmakers. In Bruges explores Ray. He spends a great deal of time feeling guilty. He wanted to kill himself until he realized it too late when changing his violent ways.
Cynical Madness
On the other hand, Pádraic never contemplated his life when Colm started to pursue his legacy. He is so eager to find his direction that channeling heartbreak into revenge against his former friend gives him a purpose in the first place. In conclusion, the only thing the director has to suggest and do is accept that searching for meaning is a tiresome act. In other words, The Banshees of Inisherin runs melancholy.
However, McDonagh makes such scares funny. Assisted by the script’s rhythmic dialogue, the film’s madness by craving vulgarism and gossip is astonishing. Farrell plays Pádraic’s grief as pathetic and touching at the same time. His voice was threatening deep; he reached octaves that only a dog could hear. Otherwise, Gleeson’s deadpan makes Colm’s brief moments of compassion even more striking.
After all, neither character seems to understand that both are stuck in a defensive mindset. They only face the fate of being hurt and injured. It’s not a McDonagh film if, in the end, something works where each character has their ignorance. However, it becomes a film with cynical madness but gentle wit, a film that makes us wince but laughs in equal measure.
Bibliography
- Feeney, J. (1998). Martin McDonagh: dramatist of the west. Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review, 87(345), 24-32.
- Lonergan, P. (2012). The Theatre and Films of Martin McDonagh (Vol. 2). A&C Black.
- Macnab, G. (2023). The Banshees of Inisherin proves Colin Farrell’s run of flops was the best thing to ever happen to him. The Independent.