The Banshees of Insherin (2022)

The Banshees of Insherin (2022)

Written and Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Nominated for 9 Academy Awards
Streaming on Disney+Hotstar.

As I saw the trailer, I was astonished by the simplicity, the absurdity of the premise. This is one premise that immediately wanted me to watch the film - not only is the premise simple, but it also carries terrific mystery. I badly wanted to know the answers. One fine day, a man living in an island, decides to stop being friends with his best friend. Not only does he want to stop being friends, but he threatens to cut every finger of his every time the friend tries to talk to him. It made me think: why, what could have possibly happened? How can you explain this? The film captures a snarky world, where lives are lonely, isolated and terribly simple. Though the film doesn't answer this mystery the way I was expecting it, I was happy with what the film gave me. On more thought, I realized that the absurdity of the premise is such that there can be no "answer" to it. The only way to explain that absurdity is to take us into their world, explain to us how their lives are and then eventually it makes sense to us, at least partially. 

To me, Padraic embodies the man who accepts his life for what it is and is happy about it. Ignorance is bliss. Acceptance is noble. Whatever it is, he's a happy man. On the other side, Colm is depressed about his own mediocrity. He wants to achieve excellence, but he knows that it's too much to expect it out of himself. So, his way of protesting against life is to blame the people around him and self-sabotage under the disguise of isolating himself. What happens to Dominic in the film broke my heart. It's interesting how the film is dark and humorous, but it never quite merges the both. It's hilarious in some portions and depressing in some portions. The beautiful setting of the film made me realize that no matter how beautiful, and how good your life is, it's no fun if you don't have people to share it with. In that way, Banshees of Insherin is a beautiful commentary on the modern-day loneliness, where everyone would love to live at a place there. But this film makes you wonder if the place matters or the people.