Martin McDonagh Sends John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell to Easter Island

Wild Horse Nine, the new film from Martin McDonagh, director of In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin, opens in US and UK cinemas on 6 November. Searchlight Pictures is distributing.

John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell play the leads; it is Rockwell’s third film with McDonagh. Malkovich won the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival for the role.

What the film is about

It is 1973, shortly before the military coup in Chile. The CIA’s local bureau chief, known as MJ, sends two of his officers to Easter Island. Chris Carlisle is a veteran intelligence officer with terminal cancer, and Lee Chesterfield is his long-time partner and protégé. Among the island’s famous stone statues they have to deal with their dark past and present conspiracies, while Chris’s unexpected friendship with two rebellious students threatens to send the whole trip sideways.

Who is in it

• John Malkovich as Chris Carlisle;
• Sam Rockwell as Lee Chesterfield;
• Steve Buscemi as MJ, the CIA bureau chief;
• Parker Posey as Marge, Lee’s wife;
• Mariana Di Girolamo as Monica;
• Ailín Salas as Alicia;
• Tom Waits as Chris’s brother.

Mark Ruffalo was originally cast as MJ, but Steve Buscemi replaced him in March 2025.

How it was made

Filming began in March 2025 on Rapa Nui itself, moved to Santiago in April and wrapped on 28 April. The cinematographer is Ben Davis, the editor is Mikkel E.G. Nielsen and the music is by McDonagh’s regular composer Carter Burwell. Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin and the director himself produced. The running time is 116 minutes.

What critics say

The film competed in Venice and then screened at Telluride and San Sebastián. It holds 94% positive reviews from 70 critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 79 on Metacritic. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called Malkovich’s performance the real revelation and his best in years, and Guy Lodge of Variety said it had been a long time since Malkovich was this engaged and affecting. Matt Zoller Seitz of RogerEbert.com gave it 3.5 stars out of 4, while Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave it three out of five, objecting to its violence and macho swagger.

When to watch

Wild Horse Nine opens in the US and UK on 6 November and screens at the Tokyo International Film Festival in late October. Cast and stills are on the film’s page in our AMDB database.