Tag Archives: Brendan Gleeson

The Banshees of Inisherin (2022).

Funny, indeed hilarious at times, sad, melancholic, and rather quite depressing, this is one grand odyssey into loneliness, boredom, and existential crisis that just isn’t spontaneous or … watchable enough to be up there with In Bruges (2008) or The Guard (2011), but it’s certainly something different. It takes so long to get going, though, and there’s only so much material you can draw from the Craggy Island setting.

Still, it’s better than most, and has the best performance by a donkey since Au Hasard Balthazar (1966).

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The Guard (2011) is a majestic experience.

Every line of dialogue in this is funny, and the lines have a purpose. Not a single sentence is wasted. I’m reminded of a David Mamet play, but with a cinematic sensibility (a David Mamet film, then). It’s the chemistry between the two leads, however, which really makes the movie, the Don Cheadle’s grudging and then growing respect of the seemingly nonchalant Sergeant Boyle, who is way smarter than he looks and acts. “You know, I can’t tell if you’re really motherfuckin’ dumb or really motherfuckin’ smart.”

And the villains. Such banter:

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