From the slightly twisted mind of Martin McDonagh, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is a dark delight that reminds me of the power of having Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson together in a movie. In 2007’s great IN BRUGES (also directed by this film’s Martin McDonagh), I noticed the chemistry of these two right away.
Cut to 15 years later, and these two are back together again in a different tale. A friendship has went sour in BANSHEES, as Colm (Gleeson) no longer wants to be friends with Padaric (Farrell) after knowing each other for a long time. The time is in the early 1920’s right at the end of Irish Civil War and in this tiny (and fictional) town of Inisherin is a place where everyone knows each other and routine, especially when regulars don’t show up at the pub.
Throughout, McDonagh and his creators go pretty dark and bleak in some chapters, yet there is always a delicate sense of humour. Padaric’s sister is played by the always reliable Kerry Condon and she has some of the most powerful scenes in the movie, always the voice of reason. And of course I must give a lot of credit to the multiple animals of the story, all of which have their unique characteristics. I overall loved BANSHEES, as dark and gory as it can get at times, and even with a pretty dark ending it still uplifted me in its final moments.
About the Blu Ray:
Disney sent me a digital code once again, and in this case the code redeems to 4k/HDR. I mention this as the movie’s strong suit is its overall look and feel, and why Disney decided not to do a 4k disc is beyond me as this has some truly wonderful digital cinematography. I only noticed a bit of crushed blacks in some interior scenes, but this is also somewhat to do with the original cinematography. The outdoor sequences absolutely come to life on screen, in particular some of the overhead and deep focus shots of the coast. The 5.1 Dolby soundtrack is pretty quiet at times with minimal surround use, but overall very effective.
Bonus features:
Featurette:
- Creating The Banshees of Inisherin – Go into the inimitable mind of director-writer Martin McDonagh as he delves into The Banshees of Inisherin, from story inception and reunion of its gifted actors, to searching the islands of Ireland for the perfect, evocative locations.
Deleted Scenes:
- Chasing Colm
- Colm Can’t Compose
- Parents’ Grave and Peadar
- Siobhan Crying Too Loud
- Stoic Equals Boring
Overall I would recommend purchasing the movie on 4k on Apple or Google if you are set up for that format, and look around YouTube for some behind the scenes and documentaries which are also on the iTunes version. If you are still in the Blu Ray realm and love having physical copies, this is still strongly recommended to have this terrific movie on your shelf.
THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN is now available on Blu Ray from Searchlight Pictures/Disney. Our thanks as always to Disney PR for sending along a copy for review.