The Banshees of Inisherin

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⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This is a movie that I wanted to love, but it got a way from me a bit in the last 30 minutes. 2 friends have a bit of a falling out, one pursuing their art over their frivolous friendship, and the other trying to get their friendship back. It takes place in the beautiful Irish country side, and the scenery combined with the accents and dialogue made this movie delightful.

The standout scene to me was an argument in the pub about the longevity of art vs the value of being a nice person. I couldn't help but think of Tar during this movie, where a character's excellence causes them to become a pretty mean person, but something about the pursuit of legacy resonated with me despite how ugly it became. Well, after this movie I can say I believe being a nice person is enough. Or can I...

See, the movie ends with our nice guy becoming not so nice. And its vague what the real result of his actions are, but it left me feeling conflicted. I don't think every movie needs to have a clear take away or moral, and maybe this is a tragedy of a nice guy losing it all and becoming not nice. But that felt unsatisfying to me, and I am not sure how to resolve it with everything that came before.

I enjoyed this movie, but it doesn't feel like it has the legs to remain in my mind long after I have seen it. A guy willing to cut his fingers off to pursue greatness, even though his fingers are key to that greatness, is vivid imagery, but it lacked something I am having a hard time putting one of those severed fingers on.

I was also thinking a lot about The Lobster when watching this. That movie stars Colin Farrell as well, and contains some similar themes in an even wilder setup. It's about people that have failed to gain connection in their life, and have one final shot in a controlled environment. I wonder if they are actually similar or if the main character is what's putting them together. If you liked this one I would be very curious what you think of that one.

Barry Keoghan is the MVP for me as the town fool. How I wish you would have been Feyd in Dune Part 2.

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