Today I watched three movies in a row, which gave me this beautiful journey through the worlds and mind of Martin McDonagh, and the many faces and fantastic acting of Colin Farrell.
I didn’t look at the release chronology, so I started with Seven Psychopaths (2012) because I was looking for something light and I imagined it to be like that. It’s a little weirdo meta-movie and contrary to what most people might think from the cover, it is absolutely not sold by the ensemble cast. Of course I loved Walken and cheered loudly when Waits appeared, but from a stage charisma point of view I give this one to Sam Rockwell. I partly tried to keep track of how much of what’s told is the story happening, being written, and the overlapping meta layer of both, but in another part I just don’t think I cared that much, and I don’t think it matters a whole lot. It’s a ride, it’s a journey, and I don’t think it’s meant for artistic deep analysis.
Now, In Bruges (2008) is a level deeper in seriousness and perhaps meaning, but it’s also not something that someone can get lost in over analysis. It’s a very simple plot in a simple setting, and it’s just this “point in time” thing where some odd series of events happen and we’re there to witness, and then the world goes on. Since there are fewer characters to focus on and we see more of their points of views it’s so easy to fall in love with them, even though practically everyone having a talking part is an anti-hero to begin with, so I guess I shouldn’t. I think what I loved most in this one is that the movie didn’t actually try to sell me on any of the characters or paint them in a specific way, it just portrayed them for who they are. I wasn’t fed a point of view, just got an amazing display of an odd collection of folks.
And then, The Banshees of Inisherin (2022) is a whole different kind of film with lots of depth and layers and symbolism. Given the context of McDonagh’s above two movies and the fact that Three Billboards came before Banshees, I was not sure what to expect: the dark comedy angle or rather serious cinema. This one was both, and it went from one to the other with quite fast of a switchover. It started quirky, and I wouldn’t say light at all, but it made me laugh, even if in grim ways. And then it ended up as one of the most depressing movies I’ve seen this year. My heart sank deeper and deeper, and I felt genuinely sorry for every single person portrayed. And when I felt bad and uncertain, it just left me there hanging and the movie ended. It was brilliant cinema though, no question about that.
It was a fantastic journey to see McDonagh’s writing and directing go through all these phases through the years. If I wanted to put a narrative to it, I’d guess In Bruges was his breakthrough, then with Psychopaths he got lured into Hollywood, he turned toward a more serious tone with Billboards, and then he went back to his Irish roots and mixed all his dark humor and achieved serious voice to craft Banshees.
It was also a joy to watch Farrell through three movies in a row playing three so distinctively different characters. I had this “recognize a great actor when I see one” feeling all along. Brendan Gleeson was an amazing partner on his side for two-thirds of this ride.
