Look at any list of 2022’s best movies and you’ll see The Banshees of Inisherin near the top. Martin McDonagh’s latest film uses the fallout between the best friends Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) to examine masculinity, the cost of ambition, and the best way to live a life. The film’s deftness with these topics (and its ability to do so in a way that is often funny) and the environment that surrounds these characters are excellent, but McDonagh’s writing was not always so clear. At a recent awards show, he recalled one of Inisherin’s stars giving him a less-than-stellar review of the original script.
‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ is a dark comedy about life’s biggest questions
The titular Irish isle that serves as the setting for The Banshees of Inisherin is a mundane small town like any other. Its residents are mostly just trying to get by while staying clear of the Irish Civil War taking place just across the water. To rise above the tedium, Colm and Pádraic keep up a daily routine where they meet up to chat over a pint at a local pub.
