What happens when your best friend decides you’re no longer welcome in their life? The Banshees of Inisherin takes that incredibly simple premise and proceeds to dissect the impact of that decision on the friend who’s been left behind.

Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson) wakes up one morning, tired of his kind-hearted but talkative friend. Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell), a relatively simple guy who loves discussing the most mundane topics at great length, is shocked to discover Colm is booting him from his life. There wasn’t any warning; one day, they’re thick as thieves, and the next, Colm’s threatening to cut off his own fingers if Pádraic doesn’t leave him alone.

Sounds a bit drastic, doesn’t it? It is, especially given that Colm’s a songwriter and fiddler.

Pádraic discovers this life-altering change in their dynamic when he makes his daily walk to Colm’s cozy home, expecting his friend to accompany him to the pub. Instead, Colm doesn’t bother responding to Pádraic’s knock. He remains seated in his chair, ignoring Pádraic’s summons.

Confused, Pádraic makes it to the pub alone, unable to recall anything he might have done to upset his friend. When Colm eventually arrives at the pub, he insists that Pádraic should sit anywhere but at his table. Completely bewildered, Pádraic asks for an explanation, and Colm calmly delivers the death blow to their friendship by saying, “I just don’t like you no more.”

What follows is an exquisitely constructed story of loyalty, companionship, betrayal, and regret cloaked in the tale of a ruined friendship. Pádraic doesn’t want to move on, happy enough with his current circumstances and life on the tiny island off the coast of Ireland. (Inisherin is a fictional town.) He refuses to accept Colm’s wishes and pesters the man into following through on his threat.

Yet even with confirmation that Colm is deadly serious, Pádraic clings to the belief he can convince his longtime friend to change his mind. Pádraic believes people are decent, the world is good, and there’s no reason to think otherwise.

Colm is more of a pragmatist who’s come to the conclusion that Padraic’s sucking up all the oxygen with all insistent chattering. There are only so many stories Colm can patiently listen to about Pádraic’s beloved pet donkey before his breaking point’s reached. Colm’s determined to compose one magnificent song before he dies, and that’s not possible with Pádraic always in his ear.

Writer/director Martin McDonagh does a brilliant job of fluidly transitioning between emotional beats. The Banshees of Inisherin is not strictly a comedy, yet some of the year’s biggest laughs in theaters come from Pádraic’s insistence on reinserting himself in Colm’s life. On the other hand, some of the year’s heaviest, most heart-wrenching moments are also courtesy of Pádraic’s belief in his ability to set things right against increasingly overwhelming odds.

Barry Keoghan has a pivotal part to play as Dominic, a friend of Pádraic’s and son of the local constable. Dominic isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but like Pádraic, he’s got a good heart and means well. Kerry Condon often speaks for the audience as Siobhán, Pádraic’s hardworking sister who put her life on hold to care for her brother and his animals. Keoghan and Condon are solid in supporting roles, but the battle of wills between Colin Farrell’s Pádraic and Brendan Gleeson’s Colm commands the screen.

McDonagh has a knack for bringing out the best in Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. Gleeson and Farrell, reuniting after working together on McDonagh’s In Bruges, seem to genuinely connect with McDonagh’s characters. The result of a collaboration between these two terrific actors and McDonagh is almost guaranteed to be a hugely entertaining film.

Farrell’s Pádraic is the more sympathetic character, but McDonagh does a remarkable job of not making Colm the piece’s villain. There are reasons behind Colm’s behavior that are at least understandable, even if not necessarily relatable. Neither Farrell nor Gleeson overplays their hands, even when the situation takes an incredibly dark turn. It’s a credit to their performances that the audience can shift their allegiance between the parties involved in the shattered friendship.

McDonagh, who might be singularly responsible for inserting “feck” into audiences’ vocabulary, is one of the finest storytellers working today. McDonagh makes us think, makes us feel, and can create worlds we enjoy visiting full of characters we become invested in. Colm and Pádraic are the latest entries on the list of intriguing characters McDonagh has created for our viewing pleasure. You may not walk away wanting to share a pint with either Colm or Pádraic, but there’s no question both are fascinating characters worthy of your time getting to know.

GRADE: A

MPAA Rating: R for some violent content, language throughout, and brief graphic nudity
Release Date: November 4, 2022
Running Time: 1 hour 49 minutes
Studio: Searchlight Pictures

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