Yes, No, Maybe So? "The Banshees of Inisherin"
Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 1:30PM by Nathaniel R
You can tell that it's August since more and more 'prestige' projects are revealing themselves and the fall film season is looking mighty tasty. Today the first poster and trailer to Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin. We don't know how Martin McDonagh keeps getting away with memorable film titles when Hollywood loves nothing more than to rename projects something utterly generic the title alone works wonders. What does it mean exactly in this context? It's so evocative and Irish, too. This is McDonagh's first film since his mainstream breakthrough with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) though he was of course already an Oscar winner before that film via his short film Six Shooter (2004). Curiously he has yet to win a Tony despite five of his projects being nominated for Best Play (The Beauty Queen of Lenane, The Lonesome West, TThe Lieutenant of Inishmore, Hangmen, and our favourite of his work The Pillowman).
After the jump the poster and trailer...
BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
YES The last time these three (Writer/Director Martin McDonagh and lead actors Colin Farrell & Brendan Gleeson) worked together (In Bruges, 2008) it was magic and Farrell ended up with a surprise but deserved Golden Globe. We're eager to see if lightning strikes twice. The trailer does a fine job of selling the simple urgent premise (two friends are suddenly and irrevocably not friends anymore... but why?), the auteur's voice (McDonagh is often a thrill), and the promise of watching a great quartet of actors go at it (hi Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan). What more can we ask in a trailer?
This is the playwright turned director's fourth feature and first since his mainstream breakthrough with Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) though he was of course already an Oscar winner before that feature arrived via his short film Six Shooter (2004). Curiously he has yet to win a Tony Award despite five of his plays being up for the top prize (The Beauty Queen of Lenane, The Lonesome West, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, Hangmen, and our favourite of his work The Pillowman). It's quite strange, given his successful crossover career, that none of his plays have been officially adapted for the screen yet... even by him!
NO N/A
MAYBE SO This is not about the movie per se but the internet decided they hated McDonagh last time around (Three Billboards) and we always dread "The Discourse" whenever a director provokes that kind of reaction. Also not about the movie but potentially infuriating: This looks like a clear example of a two-lead movie so watch Category Fraud rear its head and either Farrell or Gleeson be demoted to "supporting" if awards campaign happens. We currently have it predicted for only two nominations (Supporting Actor and Screenplay) but that could very well change with festival reactions and release date shifts.
Banshees of Inisherin will premiere at Venice, hit TIFF, and then open in theaters on October 21st from Searchlight Pictures.
Reader Comments (10)
Are you kidding? I'm sold on ANYTHING with the word "Banshee" in the title. Yes. Yes. Yes.
Siouxsie and the Banshees of Inisherin
Martin McDonagh may have lost five Tonys for his wonderful plays, but he won three Oliviers for playwriting. I have no patience for the Three Billboards nay sayers. The trailer promises another marvelous peek into the dark corners of the Irish populace. Can’t wait!
YES!!!! I saw this earlier today and it does look interesting. I hope to see this.
his plays are SO great, and so different from his films. the pillowman is a tremendous play, though it was really overproduced in its first ten years. i'd love to see a great revival in 5-10 more years...
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Colin Farrell is probably developing a narrative as being overdue for a nomination (if that narrative hasn’t settled in already), so depending on the competition, if this even gets him near the level of acclaim In Bruges did, I bet he’ll be a strong contender for a nod this year.
Surprised by the lack of love for Farrell in The North Water.
Maybe So. I just don't find this particularly compelling, and this fall is going to be stacked with promising releases. But I'll see it if it gets a lot of acclaim.
Pro: I thought In Bruges was something very special and I even enjoyed Seven Psychopaths. I've actually been meaning to revisit Three Billboards.
I think McDonagh just has bad timing when it comes to his Tony record. Beauty Queen of Lenane was up against Art, which was a surprisingly big hit. Lonesome West was a bit of a hangover nomination. No one was beating Doubt, though it's easily the least of that quartet (yeah, The Pillowman shoulda won that year). Lieutenant of Inishmore was up against The History Boys