Life of a daily pub-ber

★★★ 1/2 out of ★★★★

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)

Runtime: 114 minutes

MPAA: Rated R for language throughout, some violent content and brief graphic nudity.

How do we define the meaning of friendship? Friendship is a bond you make with someone because of, perhaps, common interests, talents, or to have conversations. This is where the line dividing acquaintance and friendship kicks in. Take, for example, people you socialise with temporarily in a place like the pub. Like the characters in the film, with only a friend you would reveal more about your personal life and have more deep conversations with them.

The Banshees Of Inisherin is a warm and tender exploration of friendship and the consequences it has on life, set on an idyllic and lush island, Inisherin, off the coast of Ireland. It is the year 1923, during the Irish Civil War. Lifelong friends, Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly see their friendship end, when Colm refuses to speak to Pádraic anymore. Colm thinks that Pádraic is too dull, and he wastes too much time having useless conversations, to the point that he could use the time to do something more productive, in this case Colm pursuing his passion for music.

Pádraic is distressed about the situation and sends his sister, Siobhán (Kerry Condon), and a priest (David Pearse, and this scene is absolutely hilarious) to ask Colm about why exactly he severed the friendship and how they can come to terms. In a seemingly melodramatic turn of events, Colm makes it clear to Pádraic that everytime he attempts to talk to him, Colm will cut one of his fingers off until he has no fingers left or until Pádraic stops conversing with him. I find the idea of him cutting off his fingers drastic and ridiculous, unless the task is to achieve an ironic effect to free himself from the pressure of becoming a great musician.

Life on the island has also become not so great for Pádraic. He becomes drinking buddies with Dominic Kearney (Barry Keoghan), whose father Peadar (Gary Lydon) is a local Garda, and also a troubled one. Dominic believes that Colm is bluffing about his preposterous "cutting-off-his-fingers" plan, and one night at the pub, Pádraic consumes excessive alcohol. In a now drunken state, he snaps at Colm, who's sitting beside Peadar, and whines about how Colm hasn't been nice to him unlike the other folks on the island, and accidentally spills the fact that Peadar regularly abuses his son.

Some compelling truths are also to be found here. As Colm retaliates and suggests, why are nice people in the 16th, 17th century never remembered, but classical musicians like Mozart or Beethoven still relevant a few centuries later? His beliefs come with a sense of validity and reason, and he also respects Pádraic's argument, finding him an interesting person again.

Even though Colm refuses to speak to Pádraic, he still shows some humanity to him, during a scene where Peadar beats Pádraic to a pulp for exposing how he abuses his son. The next day when Pádraic tries apologising to Colm for his drunken behaviour, the conversation ends badly. Colm proceeds to throw his left index finger on Pádraic's front door.

The Banshees of Inisherin is also about how you change yourself to please others. Pádraic also changes his demeanour from a kind and nice chap to a mean and rude-mouthed person just to please Colm. For example, he manipulates a fiddler into returning home by telling him that his father has been involved in a grave accident. Dominic is very displeased with Pádraic's now nasty behaviour and walks away from him. Colm also severs and throws the remaining of his left fingers, one causing Pádraic's donkey to accidentally choke on.

The third act is a Civil War between Pádraic and Colm, just like the ongoing war taking place not far from the island. Pádraic is driven and fueled with revenge to the point that it affects his everyday life tremendously. He's mad, distracted, distressed, and doesn't sleep well. Siobhán's departure from the island for a job at a library is also a testament to leaving homeland for a world of opportunities. Of course, blinded by grief, Pádraic spells out his plan to Colm and subsequently sets Colm's house on fire.

Up to this point, Farrell gives an excellent performance, turning from a cheerful Irish folk to a mad and revenge-seeking obsessionist. Gleeson maintains a cold demeanor throughout, pulling off a convincingly serious face and calm composure.

Because The Banshees of Inisherin is such an incisive exploration on friendship and how it affects people's lives, it's an extremely slight disappointment that the payoff isn't wholly satisfying. The feud calms down between Pádraic and Colm, but the film doesn't additionally provide a complex reason for the termination of their friendship. Ultimately, their status is vague and left to our interpretation: perhaps the fire has died down and the two have reconciled, or the fire's just getting started?

Payoff issues and a few dangling subplots aside, The Banshees of Inisherin will perhaps make you analyse and reconsider every friendship you've ever had, and how it, or the lack thereof, has made an impact to oneself.

Update: The Banshees of Inisherin has not won any Academy Awards.