Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
The Banshees of Inisherin is a remarkably distinctive dark fable — McDonagh's allegory of stubborn pride, creative obsession, and the Irish Civil War playing out on a tiny island is utterly singular in conception and tone. The plot's slow-burn escalation from petty social rupture to genuine horror is masterfully controlled, and the performances (Gleeson, Farrell, Keoghan) are among the best of 2022. Roger Deakins-esque island cinematography renders the landscape both gorgeous and oppressive. Novelty is genuinely high — the film's deadpan mythic register is unlike anything else. The ending earns a 3: it is appropriately bleak and resonant but not fully satisfying — it trails off into a kind of stalemate that feels true to the allegory but slightly anti-climactic dramatically. Not every category can be a 4.