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.