Editor's Note: For the seventh consecutive year, Dawn and The Husband will be spending a few nights attending the Toronto International Film Festival, known to the locals as TIFF. While they can now proudly call themselves seasoned veterans of this madness, they have scaled back their viewing opportunities due to recent bouts with Covid and the fact that the TIFF website is a colossal shitshow, causing them to totally screw up our package. The roster of films is back up to pre-pandemic levels but is disappointingly sparse this year on digital viewing. Therefore, there will only be three films screened. Sitting through a two to three-hour film while masked is not ideal, but we do it in the name of normalcy and entertainment. TIFF still serves as a tremendous distraction from the world's ills and allows for some much-needed escapism during these tumultuous times. The next several posts will focus exclusively on TIFF and will offer very short bullet point reviews for the movies seen. You've all been warned.
A caveat. I love Ireland. It is, most assuredly, one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited. I love Irish theatre, literature, actors, and films. I believe the Irish create some of the most original and innovative art in the English-speaking world. So, knowing my quirky love of the Irish and with great excitement, we chose our final film for TIFF 2022, The Banshees of Inisherin.
Writer/director Martin McDonagh reunites his In Bruges costars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson in one of the strangest and darkest comedies of the year. Set on a fictitious island off the coast of Ireland against the backdrop of the Irish civil war, McDonagh sharply examines the contours of friendship and how relationships can rapidly devolve. Farrell's slightly dim Padraic simply cannot fathom why his lifelong friend, Colm, doesn't want him in his life any longer. This is a career-defining performance from Colin Farrell. He imbues Padraic with such pathos and likeability that it is impossible not to feel his pain. Gleeson is his equal in every way, and as the relationship descends to its depths, it is Gleeson who maintains the equilibrium. The rest of the cast is spectacular as well. Kerry Condon is phenomenal as Padraic's worried sister, who can't wait to flee an obviously bizarre situation, as is Barry Keough, a troubled kid who simply cannot fathom the weirdness around him. There isn't a misstep in the entire film.
Whereas McDonagh's previous film Three Billboards in Ebbing Missouri, was frenetic and tough, Banshees relishes a more languid pace and environment but with no less sharpness and bitterness. The film really does belong to Mr. Farrell, and his win for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival portends a busy awards season for him.
TIFF 2022 was an abbreviated one for us, but we hit home runs with all three of our films.
Dawn and The Husband give The Banshees of Inisherin two enthusiastic YUPS.
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