The Banshees of Inisherin
When did nice become an insult, and simple such a burden? Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) is a nice man, leading a simple life on the fictional island of Inisherin, just off the coast of Ireland. The year is 1923. Even as a civil war rages across the water, for Pádraic all is well in the world so long as he gets to meet his lifelong friend, Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson), at the pub at 2 pm every day for a pint. When Colm fails to arrive one day – and then refuses to come at all – Pádraic’s blissfully straightforward existence is thrown askew. Before long, Colm announces his intention to sever his relationship with Pádraic entirely, threatening a series of escalating (and gruesome) consequences should he not respect his wishes.
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Comment (1)
"We’ll never know, and nor will they. Banshees submerges us in the dark unknowability of other people – even people we have known our entire lives."
It's also interesting how McDonagh uses nostalgia in this film. It is set in the past and there is a great yearning inspired in the viewer for the idyllic landscape, but the village life is far from idolised and the film says so much about our impoverished social lives today - I see it as a metaphor for the 'online' community, which also holds us tight, supports us and torments us; the boundless distractions and easy entertainments that 'others' provide in our times; how easy it is to cut people off with a text or post, say, and what the impact of this can be.
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