The Banshees of Inisherin
Short description
Set on the small Irish island of Inisherin in 1923, during the Irish Civil War, The Banshees of Inisherin follows two men who have been friends for years. Colm Doherty abruptly announces that he wants nothing more to do with Pádraic Súilleabháin, apparently without any clear reason. Pádraic, bewildered and hurt, refuses to let the friendship go. As he keeps trying to win Colm back, with support from his sister Siobhán and the troubled young islander Dominic, Colm responds with a drastic ultimatum that raises the stakes for both men and unsettles their tight-knit community.
Martin McDonagh wrote and directed the film, his fourth feature after In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. Colin Farrell plays Pádraic and Brendan Gleeson plays Colm, reuniting the two leads of In Bruges under McDonagh's direction. Kerry Condon appears as Siobhán and Barry Keoghan as Dominic, with Gary Lydon and Pat Shortt in supporting roles. The production, made by Searchlight Pictures, Film4 and Blueprint Pictures, cost about 20 million dollars and took roughly 49 million dollars worldwide, a solid return for a drama of this scale.
On IMDb the film holds 7.6 from around 293,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 7.5 from over 3,500 votes, indicating broad audience approval without runaway enthusiasm. Critics rated it noticeably higher, 8.8 out of 10 from 377 reviews, suggesting the film was received more strongly by reviewers than by general viewers.
What's left behind the scenes
- All the sweaters of the main characters were hand-knitted by one old man. Moreover, he knitted each sweater in two copies.
- Jenny, the donkey of the film's hero Colin Farrell (the animal was actually named Jenny), had not appeared in films before. Jenny was not trained for the filming, and she didn't particularly enjoy participating in the shoots. Farrell himself jokingly said that she behaved on set like a true movie star. In some scenes, they had to film not Jenny, but her stand-in – a donkey with sufficient filming experience.
- In Irish folklore or among the inhabitants of the Scottish Highlands, a banshee is a type of fairy harbinger of death.
- A pub was specially built for filming on Achill Island near the west coast of Ireland in County Mayo. The filmmakers did not have permission for this, so the building had to be demolished after filming was completed.
- Jenny the donkey had not appeared in films before. Jenny was not trained for the filming, and she didn't particularly enjoy participating in the shoot. Farrell himself jokingly said that she behaved on set like a true movie star. In some scenes, they had to film a donkey with sufficient filming experience instead of Jenny.
- Brendan Gleeson is actually a very good violinist, and he plays himself in the film.
- The film's screenplay is based on a play by Martin McDonagh. It was written as the final part of a trilogy, which also included plays from 1996 and 2001.
- Colin Farrell had several unpleasant encounters with animals during filming. He was kicked by the donkey Jenny while hand-feeding her. He was bitten by the dog playing the dog of Brandon Gleeson's character, and the horse pulling the carriage carrying Colin Farrell's character almost tipped him into the water.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
