I don't like to make grand pronouncements about movies -- it irritates me when a critic writes something like "Christopher Nolan's 'Inception' is the greatest movie ever and if you don't think so, you're stupid." (That might not be an exact quote, but that's what I took away from one review.)
While it's fun to talk about taste and individual perceptions, I have friends who don't care much about the movies at all, and other friends who insist "Top Gun: Maverick" is the best ever, even better than "Inception."
I don't feel compelled to argue. I've got a subscription to the Criterion Channel, and Film Movement sends me DVDs of movies I've never heard of. I'm privileged to have access to a lot of content, and for nearly 40 years I've written about the movies on a regular basis. I should have a fairly refined cinematic sensibility.
But my sensibility doesn't have anything to do with what other people enjoy. There's nothing wrong with liking whatever you like -- though maybe you should be mindful that a diet consisting solely of hot fudge sundaes is unhealthy.
I say this because a lot of people are not going to like "The Banshees of Inisherin," which so far might be my favorite movie of the year. It's set on a remote (fictional) Irish island, and all the characters have unrepentant Irish accents, which might be difficult for some viewers to understand, especially in the opening moments. (I find accents are like Shakespearean dialogue: give it a few minutes and you'll fall into the rhythm.)
They might not like it because they perceive it as slow -- a talky play where nothing much happens (until things start happening). They might not like it because it's different from the formulaic constructs that they recognize as movies.
Because you've read this deep into a column in a newspaper section devoted to covering the movies, you probably aren't one of the typical moviegoers who sees fewer than 10 films a year in a theater. This audience is more likely to appreciate "The Banshees of Inisherin" more than the public at large, which will likely remain fairly ignorant of the movie or scroll past it when it pops up in their Netflix queue.
But even this audience might find reasons to pick at Martin McDonagh's movie. Most of you didn't like his previous film, "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri." (Sometimes I think I'm the only one willing to admit to liking the film.) I've heard from a lot of people about their dislike for Jane Campion's "The Power of the Dog," which was probably my favorite 2021 film. I've heard from a number of you about my qualified praise for Andrew Dominik's "Blonde" (it is great movie-making; it is a lousy Marilyn Monroe bio-pic).
You may be right. And I don't care whether you agree with me, I'm just glad you're thinking about these movies. Because the main way we go wrong as citizens is our tendency to adopt intellectual mascots who can supply us with a rationale for whatever it is we want to believe.
"The Banshees of Inisherin" is a fable about how we ought to live, whether we ought to put the pursuit of some higher meaning above the quotidian pleasures of a well-lived life. It's basically about how Colm (Brendan Gleeson) decides good-natured but feckless Padraic (Colin Farrell) is a time suck, and that he'd be more productive without his friendship.
It's a break-up movie, and Padraic's pain will feel familiar to anyone who has ever been dumped. I told the studio rep that it was both the funniest and saddest movie I had seen all year.
It doesn't offer easy answers because there are no easy answers -- I'd be lost without trying hard to do the best work I can (even though other people might see that effort as vainglorious and pretentious) but I also want to spend evenings with my family, a glass of wine and "Derry Girls" on Netflix. (I turn the subtitles on during that show -- those Northern Ireland accents are a tough go.)
"Banshees" is one of four films screened for Arkansas critics in a theater last week -- the others are the admirable "Till," which seems a little straightforward and story-bookie for my jaded taste; the beautiful but scattered "Empire of Light," and the remarkable under-embargo "The Good Nurse."
Any day now, I'm expecting screeners to arrive from the studios; the rest of the year (or at least until early December) will have us catching up on whatever it is we have missed. (This year it feels like I'm further behind than most -- I still haven't seen Adam Sandler in "Hustle," which I think I will enjoy.)
I tend to keep a running tally of my favorites, to look back over when it comes to voting and to write the end- of-the-year movie piece. "The Banshees of Inisherin" might hold up as my favorite movie of 2022.
I just hope I get to see something better.
Email:
pmartin@adgnewsroom.com