Unpopular Opinions (1 Viewer)

[Lili Marlene]

Two mehs already, have I hit on the 2023 jackpot of unpopular opinions??

 

[egg_]

The Banshees of Inisherin is a good film.

I didn't really know what to make of it. It looked amazing and the acting was brilliant etc etc, but it didn't have much of an emotional effect on me ... which is probably for the best, I was afraid it'd depress the shit out of me

 

[flashback]

I didn't really know what to make of it. It looked amazing and the acting was brilliant etc etc, but it didn't have much of an emotional effect on me ... which is probably for the best, I was afraid it'd depress the shit out of me

I liked it too. Even though I'm not meant to I've later learned.

I understood it to be about modes of living your life. The characters represent different modes: love (youngfla), adventure & learning(sister), being nice(brother), leaving a legacy(your man with the shears).


edit - speaking of emotional effect, this big lad I'm mates with was destroyed by the

Spoiler: !

the death of Jenny

and immediately walked out of the cinema at that point because he couldn't handle any more of it. It did have a fairly strong general emotional effect on me I'll admit. But I'm an emotional wreck at the best of times, so we're probably not saying much here.

 

[magicbastarder]

i've not seen it, and have not read this article as a result, but i have been told it's fair (but not harsh) commentary:

The Banshees of Inisherin’s Writer-Director Has Made a Career of “Irishness.” It’s All a Load of Blarney.

Does Martin McDonagh understand Ireland at all?

slate.com

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Most people in the world can just watch it and enjoy it - or not - at face value without worrying about authenticity and consistency of style/accents/history etc. I can watch sci-fi without nit-picking the whole thing but Banshees just didn't work on that level for me, it's not plausible.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Bring this over to the film thread.

 

[moose]

The point of the criticism (for me at least) is that MacDonagh claims that the two main characters are an allegory for the Irish civil war which reduces the civil war to a petty falling out between two friends when it's much more complex with very little pettiness.

 

[Lili Marlene]

The point of the criticism (for me at least) is that MacDonagh claims that the two main characters are an allegory for the Irish civil war which reduces the civil war to a petty falling out between two friends when it's much more complex with very little pettiness.

When did he claim that? I thought he'd at least have the decency to not reduce his own work to a terrible allegory that makes no sense.

 

[moose]

When did he claim that? I thought he'd at least have the decency to not reduce his own work to a terrible allegory that makes no sense.

It was mentioned a few times in criticism I read of the film. It's mentioned in both reviews below but no quote from himself.

The tiny details you might have missed in The Banshees of Inisherin

From Dominic's stick to Jenny the Donkey, Martin McDonagh serves up a masterclass in foreshadowing with his latest, Oscar-tipped dramedy about two feuding friends in 1920s Ireland

www.gq-magazine.co.uk

"The greater war​

With The Banshees of Inisherin set in the early 1920s, the Irish Civil War rages on the mainland, miles away from the trivial day-to-day of the island dwellers. It's brother against brother, father against son: a very apt analogy, no doubt, for the conflict we're primarily concerned with."

​

"Throughout The Banshees of Inisherin, the characters remark about the explosions and gunfire they hear coming from the mainland. Of course, the film is a metaphor for the Irish Civil War (and similar conflicts), but while the allegory is clear, it never comes across as heavy-handed."

‘The Banshees of Inisherin’ movie review: Martin McDonagh’s stark Irish allegory

In Bruges stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson reunite for this bitingly funny allegory set on a fictional Irish island…

www.praguereporter.com

I may as well throw up the google search results as it keeps popping up so I'm gonna presume it was mentioned in a press release unless all these different outlets came to the same conclusion independently which would be bizarre.

https://www.google.com/search?q=banshees+of+inisherin+as+an+allegory+for+the+irish+civil+war&rlz=1C1CHBF_enIE884IE884&oq=banshees+of+inisherin+as+an+allegory+for+the+irish+civil+war&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i546l4.15407j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Lili Marlene]

Terrible culture writers with no idea of history making their own leaps is not the same as McDonagh saying it's a parable.

But yeah, i take your point, it's the major thorn in the film all the same.

I have whole reading of the film I'll write out at some point about what it's "about" for me, and it's got nothing to do with any review I've seen, but the civil war aspect doesn't factor into it so i need to make some sense of that first.

 

[moose]

Terrible culture writers with no idea of history making their own leaps is not the same as McDonagh saying it's a parable.

But yeah, i take your point, it's the major thorn in the film all the same.

I have whole reading of the film I'll write out at some point about what it's "about" for me, and it's got nothing to do with any review I've seen, but the civil war aspect doesn't factor into it so i need to make some sense of that first.

I've literally said I've no quotes from himself. I will try find some though at some point if I can be arsed. In my experience of music reviews when a lot of the reviewers use the same words it's usually lifted from a press release so I'm sticking with my presumption it's in a press release.


Emojis used to show I'm not entirely dedicated to this idea.

 

[Unicron]

Here's one that may not go down well ...

Have no time for landlords poor mouthing but in the absence of a revolution the nation is better off with people from here owning one, or a number of rental properties than a situation where Canadian hedge funds and Aussie banks own massive portfolios of housing stock here to the point where they're in a position to manipulate the prices in the market.

 

[ann post]

I'd have taken it much more that the distant explosions are mise en scene for the personal conflicts. the war is a handy soundtrack to the meltdown

 

[ann post]

Here's one that may not go down well ...

Have no time for landlords poor mouthing but in the absence of a revolution the nation is better off with people from here owning one, or a number of rental properties than a situation where Canadian hedge funds and Aussie banks own massive portfolios of housing stock here to the point where they're in a position to manipulate the prices in the market.

I'd agree with you on that. I saw it pointed out last week that loads of multinationals are dumping 7ish % of staff essentially so shareholders wont see the results of inflation in their bottom line this year. Anthing with shareholders is entirely fucked in terms of being any value to society.

 

[Lili Marlene]

Here's one that may not go down well ...

Have no time for landlords poor mouthing but in the absence of a revolution the nation is better off with people from here owning one, or a number of rental properties than a situation where Canadian hedge funds and Aussie banks own massive portfolios of housing stock here to the point where they're in a position to manipulate the prices in the market.

This is the story of Ireland post 2007 isn't it? All/most of the land NAMA bought was owned locally, rather than developing it they sold it off for a one off cash hit to multinational investors as the price went back up, because we must not do anything ourselves, the market is God. Yes NAMA made a "profit" but we lost the land, probably forever.

 

[pete]

I've literally said I've no quotes from himself. I will try find some though at some point if I can be arsed. In my experience of music reviews when a lot of the reviewers use the same words it's usually lifted from a press release so I'm sticking with my presumption it's in a press release.


Emojis used to show I'm not entirely dedicated to this idea.

Not a press release, but promo material


Thursday 6th of October 2022

10:30 AM

Light House Cinema, Dublin 8


PLEASE NOTE:
The Review Embargo lifted at the Venice Film Festival


Set on an island off the west coast of Ireland, THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN follows two lifelong friends, Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm abruptly decides to end their friendship. With the support of his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon), who along with the local policeman’s son Dominic (Barry Keoghan) has her own qualms within the small island community, a confused and devastated Padraic attempts to reignite their relationship. But when Colm delivers a shocking ultimatum in order to crystalize his intention, events start to escalate to fractious heights.

Directed by Martin McDonagh (“In the Burges,” “Seven Psychopaths”) “The Banshees of Inisherin” opens in Irish cinemas on the 21st of October, 2022.
Running Time: 114
Rating: 16

CAST
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan

DIRECTED BY
Martin McDonagh

IN CINEMAS October 21st, 2022

 

[pete]

Oh there’s this too from the media kit thing


In late 2019, producer Graham Broadbent was travelling in Argentina when he received an email from Martin McDonagh, the writer-director with whom he had collaborated on three motion pictures at that point - In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths(2012), and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). “Have a read of this,” McDonagh wrote in his email.
On a flight from Buenos Aires to Patagonia, Broadbent was plunged into the story of THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN. The world that McDonagh created – a fictional island off the west coast of Ireland where two friends become estranged, leading to disastrous, anarchic consequences. It had all of the writer-director’s trademarks: it was funny, sad, dark, and full of humanity – distinctly McDonagh.
“The Banshees of Inisherin is the story of an island, the small group of people on that island, and two friends who early on in the film are forced by the decision of one friend to go their separate ways,” says actor Colin Farrell (The Lobster, Minority Report), who plays Pádraic in the film. “The other friend finds that particularly hard to deal with.”
The story opens with Pádraic walking happily around the island of Inisherin where he lives with his sister, Siobhán. Pádraic is a sweet, mild mannered, happy-go-lucky guy: “A lot like the real Colin Farrell,” remarks McDonagh.
Every day, Pádraic and Colm meet at 2pm to go for a drink in the only pub on the island. It’s a daily routine. On this particular day, however, everything changes. Colm, played by Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Braveheart, Gangs of New York) ignores Pádraic when he calls.
“Colm starts acting very strangely and starts avoiding Pádraic,” says Gleeson. “Colm doesn’t answer the door, which is how we start off the journey. That’s how it begins - with the shutting of a door against a good friend… for no apparent reason.”
Pádraic is initially surprised, then shocked, and eventually heartbroken. He’s also confused, since Colm has given no particular reason for the breakup. These two men have been friends for, we presume, their whole lives.
Why did Colm torpedo his friendship with Pádraic, was it something that Pádraic said, or did? Is Colm depressed? Should he respect Colm’s wishes and back off? Or should he try to change Colm’s mind or change himself? Within the first six minutes of the movie, the plot is in place.
“Pádraic can't understand why Colm doesn't want to be friends with him anymore and won't accept it. It’s similar to the feelings you feel when you've been dumped in a relationship. You think, ‘So did you ever like me, or was I imagining that we were in love?’” says McDonagh. “It's interesting to see who the audience identifies with. Can they understand the tough line that Colm, the breaker-upper, has taken, or do they identify with the nice person who is broken hearted?”
But Colm has his reasons. “He doesn’t want to waste his time anymore,” says McDonagh. “He wants to devote himself to artistic enterprises: music or thought. Pádraic is the fallout from that decision. Until this point things have been easy going. But Colm is older than Pádraic by 15 or 20 years. Colm identifies that time is precious and he sees Pádraic as a waste of time.”

---

4 / 27
Kerry Condon describes the characterisation as a “smart way of playing with those feelings that everyone has in terms of a loving couple, heartbreak and rejection, but doing it with friends so there is a comedy element to it.”
“Colm decides to embrace art and creativity as the most important thing in life and it leads to hellish consequences,” says Gleeson. “Pádraic chooses to be nice and he ends up with hellish consequences as well. The Irish Civil War was a tragedy - that’s the context here. Through examining it and trying to understand how things can get dragged out of shape, maybe we can face it down and not take that path. I hope the film will remind people that making nasty or harmful decisions has a lasting effect.”
“Do you devote yourself totally to life as an artist,” McDonagh continues, “and disregard friends or lovers or family? Is work the most important thing? Does it matter who gets hurt in the process? It's a debate that isn't answered by me or the film. I don't think that you have to be a self-flagellating or dark or hateful person to do any kind of art, even dark art. But I definitely think the film explores that interesting conundrum.”

 

[magicbastarder]

yeah, setting it during the civil war was no accident. whether it's meant to serve as a backdrop or an allegory is another matter.
i haven't seen the movie, but does the fact that it's set in the civil war have any bearing on the plot? i.e. could it have been set ten years earlier without affecting the movie?

 

[ann post]

yeah, setting it during the civil war was no accident. whether it's meant to serve as a backdrop or an allegory is another matter.
i haven't seen the movie, but does the fact that it's set in the civil war have any bearing on the plot? i.e. could it have been set ten years earlier without affecting the movie?

yes

 

[Denny Oubidoux]

Colin Farrell wasn't very good in it at all and gets a best actor nomination. Why does Brendan Gleeson get a best supporting actor nomination? He's plays a key central character and does at least put in a good performance. D'unbelievables were also good in their roles but... It's D'unbelievables. And Killinaskully and a Fr Ted shopkeeper. I liked the old hag.