Set against the tail end of the Irish Civil War, The Banshees Of Inisherin follows the story of the friendship between two individuals that does go sour after one of them ends things rather abruptly. The story here does unfold like a slice of life film yet it is one of the best tragicomedies that I have watched in a long time. The screenplay standing at a shade under 120 minutes does have a lot of things to offer with layers within layers that does make this a memorable watch. This review will contain mild spoilers, so viewers discretion advised!

The first thing that did catch my attention was the scenic landscapes of Inisherin, a small island off the coast of the mainland. The visuals were breathtaking and almost like a postcard in an island which was privy to the leisurely pace that life had to offer. We are introduced to the two protagonists with distinct character traits – one being the sensitive and ‘dull’ individual and the other recluse and stone-hearted. It is implied that the two of them were best of friends until the latter begins to ignore the former almost suddenly.

Now these sort of stories I generally would associate with Malayalam films from the writing stand point –  A Simple story but a complex screenplay is what formulates The Banshees Of Inisherin. There is an underlying message of friendship right at the beginning with a subtle sense of black humour which is sprinkled throughout the narrative. The layered drama is a slow burn and the pacing here allows you to invest well in the characters. The proceedings do unfold from the point of view of one of the individuals yet there is a sense of equilibrium that is maintained throughout the film that doesn’t allow the viewers to take sides. What does begin like a tale of friendship gone awry soon turns chaotic with a massive ego tussle that unfolds.

There is a sense of upmanship between the two proragonists although it is a far cry from the one in Ayyapannum Koshiyum. The toxicity here is not alpha but instead more self inflicting. What does seem like a casual statement by one of the protagonists soon turns into reality in a shocking and gruesome turn of events that will make you squirm yet make you laugh in a weird sense. In between, there are a couple of subplots involving the other people on the island that is handled with sensitivity yet keeping the eventual tragedy in mind. Things only keep getting worse by the minute that does lead to a death on the island following which all hell breaks loose! In between there are also moments of softness between the two protagonists that does show their care for one another. One instance being, the character of Colm smacking a policeman who was bad mouthing Padraic after the latter’s donkey had died of a stray incident. The concepts of depression and loneliness are nicely touched upon as well.

The turn of events in the climax are tragic and this was far from a ‘feel good’ ending here. Instead I was really feeling hollow in what was a ‘feel bad’ ending of sorts. You could still see the mutual admiration for one another in their eyes with one of them also being thankful for saving his dog and not extracting revenge on the poor animal. Yet the writers do draw a parallel to the Irish War by stating through one of the characters that History will continue to reoeat itself, nothing will change till people are alive(paraphrased). The two protagonists too find themselves in a similar situation as the war where an eye for an eye does make the whole world blind. Yet there is a glimmer of hope right at the end of a sort of a truce which is hinted at. Overall, a brilliantly penned screenplay that is layered in many ways where things are implied rather than layed out!