“The Banshees of Inisherin”: a stunning intimate drama

“The Banshees of Inisherin” is presented out of competition at the EnergaCamerimage Festival. On this occasion, the director Martin McDonagh (“Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri,” “In Bruges,” “Seven Psychopaths”) reunites with his cinematographer Ben Davis (“Kick-Ass”) and keeps his actors on an island off the coast of Ireland: Colin Farrel, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan.

The story begins when Colm refuses to join his best friend, Pádraic, at the pub one Sunday afternoon. He expressly asks him never to speak to him again.
Pádraic’s lack of understanding does not disarm Colm’s stubbornness, and the lives of everyone on the island, animals included, are disrupted.

Between two old bachelors in the Ireland of 1923, the words of Martin McDonagh (also a playwright) are counted, and they do count. The mood changes as quickly as the clouds pass over the breathtaking scenery of the Irish West. By placing this story of a painful break-up at a friendship level , the director wipes out the codes of sentimental film and writes his story in a new, pure way.

The film depicts the modest and mundane way of life of the inhabitants of Inisherin through a sober mise en scène and minimalist aesthetic. After landing on the island, the viewer is settled into a calm and composed universe. The camera is rarely mobile, apart from the stabilizer in a fluid way, accompanying the characters from one place to another: the pub, Colm’s house, and the house of Pádraic and Siobhán. It adapts to the characters and remains still when the characters are.

The protagonists maintain a puzzling calm even during disturbing or violent events. So does the camera. Suffering is shown as shadow puppet as if it were child’s play. The look is modern, the period setting relies on the script above all else. The shot list has been storyboarded beforehand and inspired by classic and more recent westerns (link).

The crew (rather small) left for 8 weeks of shooting in Ireland. The main cast was also stuck on the island, and Ben Davis remembers it as a beneficial situation, which allowed him real flexibility with regard to the climatic uncertainty.

Referring to the region and its landscapes, Ben Davis states that he is unable to express in words what he felt there. The film wants to transcribe this feeling visually, as well as through the sound work and the choice of music. Here, the infinite and majestic landscapes demanded wide shots with a great depth of field. The Arri Alexa LF expresses all its identity. Combined with Signature Prime lenses and Angenieux zooms, it is in perfect symbiosis with the style of the film.
At the Camerimage festival, Ben Davis mentions the fact that during the shooting, the dailies are no longer projected to the crew: a pity for the wide shots, which will be seen on small screens.

Space and nature have their own relationship with the characters. The intimate sequences take place outside. The places of public representation are, on the one hand, the pub, a dark place where pints of beer accumulate to mark the passing of time. And the church, on the other hand, where confessions are never completely private.
The film was shot with two cameras to free the actors’ performance as much as possible, who were obviously involved in this project body and soul.

The film will be released in France on December 28