Film review — Banshees of Inisherin

I watched this film earlier in the week, as it had gotten good reviews as one of the better films of 2022. It was available for $4 or so via Amazon, so I checked it out.

It reminded me of art/foreign films from the 80s / 90s that would have limited run in art-house cinemas like the Garden Hills, the Screening Room, or the Tara in Atlanta. The story was pretty basic. The setting is a small island just off the Irish coast in the 1920s. Everyone knows everyone else’s business and things never seem to change much.

One day, Colm (Brendan Gleeson, probably best known as Moody from the Harry Potter films) up and decides that he no longer wants to be friends with or associate with his long time pub-pal Pádraic (Collin Ferrell, from Minority Report, In Bruges, etc.). This kicks off an escalating series of changes to local life, and as each man cannot accept the actions of the other, things continue to escalate out of all control / reason.

The film requires patience from the viewer. The story unfolds gradually with a few surprises her and there, but no great spectacles. You have to be satisfied with the world in which it takes place, the insular island of Inisherin. But I thought it was definitely worth a viewing by the end. I enjoyed it, but I think I’d have liked it even more if I’d had the opportunity to see it at one of the old (now defunct) theaters.