‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ Film Review: Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson Are Back for More Twisted, Feckin’ Fun

thewrap.com:

“What do ya expect?”The film sinks into the atmosphere of beautiful desolation on the island, with its hardscrabble existence, its sense of community, its cows wandering between green fields bordered by stone walls, its impromptu renditions of fiddle reels and folk tunes like “I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day.” You anticipate some kind of explosion because this is Martin McDonagh, but before it arrives the low-key, gentle pace is richly satisfying, and the conversations between Pádraic and Colm (or the lack of conversations, when Colm gets his way) are a delight.

Farrell and Gleeson are born to the rhythms of McDonagh’s dialogue, which seems both precise and tossed off, and the casual connection between them is never less than sheer pleasure.Eventually, Colm delivers a gruesome ultimatum of what he’ll do if Pádraic speaks to him again.

Of course, Pádraic, who sees himself as one of life’s good guys, can’t keep his mouth shut. And, of course, that means that things get very dark and very twisted, and what feels like a gentle and invigorating character study takes an ugly turn.But the particular alchemy of “The Banshees of Inisherin” is that it can venture into McDonagh’s usual terrain while also retaining its gentle feel; it’s a moving elegy for a way of life that isn’t fading away, it’s going up in flames.The film could be spectacularly beautiful if it wanted, but McDonagh and cinematographer Ben Davis hold back.

The shots of green fields and majestic skies over the water are there, but they’re an environment, not a picture postcard — and we never forget that these bonny vistas are home to some seriously deranged behavior.