The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) is a darkly comic and deeply melancholic masterpiece that lingers long after the credits roll — a breakup story disguised as a tragicomedy.
Directed and written by Martin McDonagh, the film is set on a remote, fictional Irish isle in 1923, against the turbulent backdrop of the Irish Civil War. Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) are lifelong friends whose daily companionship abruptly collapses when Colm announces he no longer wishes to speak to Pádraic, seeking something more meaningful in his remaining years.
Critics have hailed the film as a perfect blend of tragedy and comedy — a cruelly funny, deeply thoughtful meditation on loneliness, mortality, and legacy. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson’s on-screen chemistry is both heartbreaking and magnetic, their exchanges shifting from tender to brutal with unnerving ease.
Cinematographer Ben Davis captures the rugged beauty of Inisherin with sweeping vistas and painterly light, while the framing grows increasingly tight and claustrophobic as the story unfolds. Carter Burwell’s haunting, folk-infused score lends the film a fairy-tale quality tinged with unease, perfectly underscoring its atmosphere of isolation and inevitability.
Beneath the humor lies a raw meditation on the fear of being forgotten, the value of kindness, and the human craving for legacy. Colm’s decision to end the friendship stems from an existential dread that time is slipping away, while Pádraic clings to the small comforts of familiarity. Surrounding them is a cast of vividly drawn characters, from Kerry Condon’s sharp yet compassionate sister to Barry Keoghan’s tragicomic village outcast, each reflecting facets of loneliness and quiet desperation.
The film has been celebrated worldwide, earning numerous awards including Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Actor for Farrell, and Best Screenplay, alongside BAFTA wins and multiple Oscar nominations. It was named among the year’s top films by critics and industry bodies alike.
Verdict: The Banshees of Inisherin is a poetic, devastating, and often bitingly funny exploration of fractured friendship and the human need for meaning. It’s a slow-burn work of art — as beautiful as it is brutal — and one of the most unforgettable films of recent years.
