It was a lovely film. The fingers thing was odd, but a lovely film.

Was a lot funnier than I thought it’d be. Really enjoyed it

So odd. Mesmerizing. Reminded me of Van Gogh in a way.

I felt depressed halfway through and then just started laughing at the absurdity. Just... Wow.

Funny. Disturbing. Heart warming. Drop dead gorgeous cinematography and superb acting.

Now excuse me while I pour one out for auld Jenny . . .

Alastor Moody's retirement turned out be quite messed up, methinks :/

Loved it. Check out Martin McDonagh’s other movies if you haven’t. Same tone of dark humor

It was a dark but silly film. About friendship? The danger of wanting to be famous? Relationships based on animals as proxies for affection? Finding your lost father in a broken man? So many things. And it did impact me but I so wanted it to resolve cleaner. Just like life I guess...

I've seen in Bruges and three billboards. I didn't realize it was the same director.

Amazing. Best movie of the year for me.

Lmao

It's a fecking good movie

You put it succinctly. Thank you for giving me the words to describe it perfectly.

It might be for me too

Yep. He did Seven Psychopath and had a short Six Shooter with Brendan Gleason that’s about 30 min. It’s a shame he doesn’t have more

Feckin A

Yeah for real. So talented.

Tora Lora lora

Watch In Bruges next.

Check out The Guard as well. Brendan Gleason, rural Irish cop who doesn’t give a shit but also does, excellent film and the same tone as In Bruges

I found it to be tiresome, repetitive and pointless. The acting and cinematography were great but I guess it’s just not for me.

It was grotesque and somewhat unsettling. What do you think the central message is? Im still confused by this film.

Seen it. Loved it.

You can read the other comments for other people's take. I just found it defining the banality of life. In a melancholy way. Idk. Hard to describe.

And that's ok. Different strokes for different folks.

"There goes that dream"...

Same. I love the directors previous work but nothing connected with me. It was very repetative until the last third or so.

Most of the movie is basically:
"Why don't you wanna be friends?"
"I don't wanna be. I'm warning you stay away!"

And then it shows how lonely people are. The subplots didn't interest me either. I had no emotions during the movie at all, which is a shame.

It is well made and well acted, but it left me cold.

“Colm and Pádraic’s fighting is a metaphor for the Irish Civil War. Through their in-fighting, they destroyed themselves. Colm destroyed his fingers, rendering him unable to do the one thing he loved, playing music. Pádraic destroyed his chance at a better life by letting his grief and need for revenge get in the way of accepting his sister’s offer to come to the mainland. The two men are momentarily at a ceasefire, but, as Pádraic implies, will likely fight again soon.”

Basically this is about two factions of Irish politicians (and then armies) in the 20s who fought each other post early independence. They disagreed on how much influence London should have on Irish life. I took the fingers plot to suggest that at least one faction in the civil war was willing to hurt themselves to make a point (terrorism etc), illustrating the banality of the civil war. “I’d rather chop my own fingers off than compromise” etc.

I really liked it too . Now go see “Babylon “ which was great as well

Didn’t connect with it

Felt a bit like a over-miseried caricature of Irish island life

Loved the presence of animals

Didn’t like the use of death (Dominic, Jenny)

I remember the first bit thinking this seems pleasant enough, I wonder if there will be more to this story.

And then the story got crazy.

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Amazing.

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One of my favorite movies of the year

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I watched Banshees about a week ago. I think I'm still coming down from the feelings the film stirred up. At least Siobhan made it out. When she was crying in bed, I prayed that it was because she decided to follow her dreams. ("There goes that dream.") Banshees is lovely and weird and heartbreaking, and I may never watch it again.

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Do you think god gives a damn about miniature donkeys, Colm?

Same. I found my mind wandering away from the film a lot. The creepy old lady was super cool though

Felt my heart sink during that line, then sink more realising what he meant in the end by “I best go over there and do whatever that thing over there I was gonna do was”.

I got that first point, but didn't connect the finger dismemberment.

I knew it was coming. Feckin A

Would be a 10/10 movie for me had it not been for the fingers being chopped off.

Really had to suspend belief for that. Would hurt like hell for days on the first alone, never mind the other 4 but with fresh bleeding stumps he was acting like they didn’t hurt at all.

I suspect you also needing new things to watch over the holiday weekend.

I was floored about 45 minutes into the movie. It is so great and I can't really tell you why. If I tried to describe it to my friends they'd think I was out of my mind.

Only reason I heard of the movie was it was on the recently added on HBO max.

It was absurd yet somehow I love it hit all the right notes. Somehow I found parallels to my personal life and relationships with this movie.

This probably the best movie I just kind of came across and tried out on all of the streaming services over the years.

Fantastic film, fantastic director & cast.

It's extremely good and I don't know if I wanna watch it again. It just made me feel bad. Fantastic movie. Also Barry Keoghan is becoming one of my favorite actors. He's so good at playing a weird little guy.

Didn't love it. Wish I did, but didn't. I'm glad you did tho!

For Jenny! 😭😭

The sister- Kerry Condon - must get a nomination; she was fantastic

My second favorite of the year behind EEAAO, it’s truly a phenomenal movie

So feckin good I’ll watch it again.

I don't think it was odd at all. Colm knows Padraic wont believe their friendship is over unless he does something brutal. But Padraic is like a child and won't let Colm go. The pain of losing his sister and his donkey ended their friendship for good.

Cutting off your fingers and throwing them at someone is odd.

It was not silly at all. Actually a good representation of people living isolated from the city back in the days

Mental health and boredom?

The civil war wasn't north vs south, it was pro-treaty vs anti-treaty. In some cases it was sons against their fathers and siblings against each other

It’s a fairytale fuckin town innit?!

I enjoyed it, but nothing more. Sublime performances and naturally beautiful cinematography.

Perhaps I had exceedingly lofty expectations because of all the buzz surrounding this one, but it fell a bit short for me. Glad I watched it. Won’t see it again.

(Edit- I’ll take In Bruges over Banshees any day.)

It wasn't about Colm wanting to be famous, it was moreso about him being remembered

Disliked it myself. Really hard to vibe check for so much of the movie, felt like a light going nowhere comedy then whent dark af. Both myself and my partner left the theater going wtaf, it didn't even resolve its own protline

Are ye rowin?

I thought it was alright. It should have been better considering the cast. It's not something I'd bother to watch again.

Ah what year was this? I wanted to read up some on which war they were referring to.

My least favorite of McDonagh’s films. You ever know a movie is technically good but you just don’t feel it? That’s how I felt about this. Loved the rhythm and the dialogue though.

In this context, its not. Imagine your best friend doesnt want to talk to you anymore even though nothing happened. You won't believe him, so you'll try to get an explanation. The explanation doesn't make sense to you, and then he cuts his fingers, which prevents him from doing the only thing he enjoys doing. Now, you understand he was 100% serious about it. Remember, this is early 20th century, you can't block someone on social media.

What, like you've never done that?

That too for sure. And the difference between beer and whiskey.

I haven't seen my take written anywhere, so here goes. I think Colm struck a deal with the devil ( or the witch) to become famous, at least in legacy, musician. To do this he had to give up the person he cared for most, Pad. After he tells Pad off, giving a pretty weak explanation, these music students appear for no apparent reason in this isolated village and start gathering around Colm. He begins to write his masterpiece. But Pad won't leave. He cuts off a finger, threatening his dream, to drive Pad away, but is relieved to see he can still play. Presumably, killing Pad would also fulfill the deal, but he is unwilling to do this. When he cuts off all of his fingers, he has broken the deal. He will not be a famous musician, but Pad will live.

I don't tink we're rowin'.

My favorite movie of 2022.

I wouldn't mutilate myself to make a point.

Watched it last night for the first time, a lot better than I thought it would be! For a movie where not a lot really “happens” it was very good! Jenny ☹️

Just a depressing slog. Sorry. Nothing redeeming or interesting about this except some great cinematography.

Colin and Brendan are a match made in Heaven. Such great chemistry, especially in “In Bruges”.

I only did it once and now he has a restraining order against me.

Agreed! This was a great little film. I love this team and all the movies they make together, but this one was perfection! Such an amazing slice of Irish life back in the '20s. It could easily have played as Newfoundland too, which would also have been great(I'm a Canuck), but Ireland is just so amazing. Colin Farrell was fantastic.

My favourite film of 2022. It felt much more like Martin McDonagh's stage plays than his previous films. His first few plays were all set on tiny Irish islands and featured lonely/bored characters having an existential crisis that usually end in bursts of violence. I think Banshees may have even started life as an idea for the stage.

Colm wanted to be completely left alone by Padraic and focus on his music. Now he can’t play music and while Padraic isn’t trying to be his friend anymore he won’t be leaving him alone until one of them dies.

I think their feud represents the irrational escalation of civil conflicts, particularly the Irish Civil War happening the background.

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I feel like Colm just wanted Padraic to stop being boring and start being more of a prick in life, so he does and he likes him again, but that poor simple fella, Dominic just jumps in a lake.

Great film - very dark humour though...

Well sorry to break the news to you but you didn't understand the context of the movie. It's okay though, not everyone can relate to having a close relationship with someone.

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Justice for Jenny!

Dude. Get over yourself.

Glad you clarified this for people. Many don't seem to get this, and yet they speak about the topic as if they're completely informed.

All you have to do is Google it to see that it wasn't the case but people are clearly in too much of a rush to show off how deep their "knowledge" of something they're completely uninformed on is. See the same thing with people on reddit talking about the Troubles.

it seems like a lot is some kind of allegory for the civil war, but i honestly felt like the deepest thread in the film for me was just depression, existential crises, and how people handle them and how it affects the world around them.

Colm is depressed. His depression leads him to believe hes wasting his life and he needs to make drastic changes, but at the same time, hes somewhat overwhelmed by this feeling of needing to be something.

Hes depressed. And hes not handling it well. In fact, hes handling it terrible. So he alienates his best friend and essentially blames him for his issues (sort of, he does say its not you, but all the same, hes made colin farell the face of his issue). So he upends his life in an attempt to find what hes looking for but he doesnt find it. Because thats not his problem. His problem is he is fecking depressed.

Now the other interesting part of this is how this affects Pádraic. Pádraic is generally aloof and happy about it. He doesnt think deeply and in that, his life is happy. He wants for nothing, he is satisfied, for whatever that means. However the issues with Colm make him awaken a bit to his own self, but again, not in a healthy way. He doesnt wake up and say, oh god, I need more, instead, he fixates his ire on Colm, which is fair, since Colm is the catalyst.

The movie in my opinion is just this playing out with no one stepping in to really do anything.

In the end, I think Colm could actually be happier because him losing his hand has made his fever dream impossible, and therefore no longer a weight on his shoulders. But it cost something, Padraics innocent demeanor is gone and whats left is a hard and angry man who only wants to make colm miserable because thats what colm did to him. Its not rational, which is why they have that basically cordial conversation at the end. But it still is what it is.

Curious to hear other thoughts, but I cant see how depression doesnt play a huge factor in the narrative. I thought it was the whole point of the priest, no one went to therapy, but they told their priests how they felt and the priest knew he was depressed and kept asking him, are you gonna do anything about it to which colm says, nope.

​

Really great movie, a great set of actors top to bottom. Barry K nearly steals it in my opinion. To be such a vile, yet innocent character was interesting. His innocence when he says he loves the sister is just, brutal. So well done.

1922 - 1923. The film 'the wind that shakes the barley' is based at this time and stars Cillian Murphy

Great take, as I said in another comment, I was reminded of Van Gogh.

I loved it, don't think I'll watch it again :)

At first, he was still able to play his music. It's only After Padraic kept trying to be friends that he cut everything.

And while I agree it's a representation of the civil war in Ireland, I believe it's a good story on its own.

Absurdism at its best, imo. Everything was just right.

10/10 agree

That's classic McDonagh tbf. He's written plays about Hans Christian Andersen keeping a "pygmy woman" in his attic and stealing stories from her, or characters "too mad for the IRA" going on killing sprees because their cat is missing.

It seemed even more so a n allegory for the Irish experience of the era which included and was centered around the war. There was abuse of a child by a an authority figure, emigration of the sister, moral debate about idealism/ambition vs being content with what you have, superstition

​

it felt like a modern day, dark comedic poem, by yeats.

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Got it thanks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Civil_War

Bro just cut his brain trying to make a point. Ironic

Seems like yer rowin

I honestly think it is far more entertaining than Banshees. Banshees was great, a piece of art, but for me, In Bruges is perfect pretty much every way.

Seconding The Guard recommendation. It’s made by John McDonagh, the brother of Martin McDonagh.

Watched it last night. More like a stage play really than a movie. The token outdoor shots are pretty though. Jenny was my favourite character until the thing happened. The sister was good though, not too impressed with "the odd couple". 3/5

Yeah, I get his own sense of logic to it, but it completely failed. The threat of cutting off more fingers was supposed to make Padraic leave him alone, but after Jenny’s death he doesn’t care how many of his own fingers Colm chops off.

People can have conflicts. They can argue and beat each other and burn houses with all your ownings and tell you the shittiest truth you'll never hear even from the cruelest enemy of yours, but people should never betray their blood, Irishmen say.

I've never seen (and even more expected) to see Colin Farrell to be that melodramaticly agressive. I mean...

It was very easy to read the message of the characters played by Brendan Gleeson - it was a testament to the new generation. But Collin's character told me something more egregious that still I can't fanthom clearly. But it was not a message of revenge, no. I think..

Watching him playing was like watching a fire burnng, a woman singing and a violin playing. He was a living Irish spirit of the island at the end - the imagery land that he would never leave with all wars combined, and hate can never change the man. It's like Hulk who hold his ragein his bones and watching it you don't want to wake it up, you know? Very cruel force.

And I liked all the confessions and the pries's scenes. Dialogues, landscapes/views, actors, this film is a masterpiece.

REading some of the other comments here I get but kinda confusing.

I thought it wove together a story about life and the chances we have and what we do with those chances. You got to see it from about 7 or 8 different perspectives. Yes the main story was about the friendship but it had this ripple effect that was true to life in a way most movies can't do smoothly.

• You have the guy who wants life to be more than what it is.
• That same guy has been struggling with depression and doesn't know what to do about it.
• The kid who knows more about life than he thinks but succumbs to it just the same.
• The sister who doesn't seem to have ever loved but wants something for herself but is scared to pursue it because she feels obligated to take care of her brother.
• The regular guy who just simply carries on in life not assessing anything until something forces him to look up.

There are so many Archetypes of people and mini-stories about life in this movie I don't see how you couldn't find something enjoyable about it. I know nothing about Irish conflict I think the movie would still work even if set in another country. You don't need the background of Irish civil war for it to be a good story. Truly it's just a funny story that exposes a ton of angles and nuances of life.

Also plays, saw a Skull in Connemara a few years back. It is excellent.

"The Banners of Internet". A story for our time in a seemingly primitive setting but with a subtext about the casual cruelty of the internet. The internet allows the cancelling of others with a simple push of a button. That can be an awful thing. Harsh.

"Maybe there’s banshees too,” Colm remarks to a bemused Pádraic. “I just don’t think they scream to portend death anymore. I think they just sit back quietly, amused, and observe".

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I had the same thought while watching and was waiting for them to address something along these lines in the resolution. I liked the movie but felt like it was lacking because we never got a fulfilling explanation for why Colm would do something so sudden and drastic.

Loved this movie. Great writting. My favorite of McDounagh, his most mature and impactful.

Breakup, loneliness, political subtext, existentialism - what is a good life? Being nice or leaving something behind, and does one necessary exclude the other?

Its interesting comparing this one to the new Spielberg one, Fabelmans. Character driven dramas, one is maximalist and one is minimalist in its approach. Both work and they work on way different ways.

Funny that. Tiresome, repetitive and pointless sounds a lot like what living on an island off the west coast of Ireland in the 1920s would feel like.

Dark, weird, funny, incredible acting, and beautifully shot. Saw it last night and really enjoyed it.

Are ye feckin jokin?!

You act like you never been rowin’

Great acting and cinematography. Just a strange story overall did not care for it. I understand some of the metaphors in the backdrop of the war but just was an odd one that I would not recommend and definitely would not see again.

Fecking well said. Pretty much nailed it, I think.

Yer all. Fecking. Booring.

There's something really unsettling about his performances.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a good example of what I mean.

Damn you have a way with words. Well put.

No ain't feckin' jokin, your fat fingers killed meh donkey!

I don't think it was as deep as many people think. You don't have to go too far in Ireland to find the personalities portrayed in the movie.

I think it may have primarily been a showcase for some really great actors and the art of filmmaking.

She was in the great HBO series ROME

What brought me in was the break up of life long friends, I needed to know why.... Was not expecting finger cutting high jinx.. but the movie is very memorable and made me want to visit Ireland even more lol

Just to be clear Padraic is a simple man but he knows Colm better than any living person. He sees exactly where his friend is headed and wouldn't give up on him no matter how stupid, stubborn or pathetic he appeared to everyone.

Colm wasn't tired of his friend. He wasn't seriously that interested in legacy all of a sudden. He was suicidal. The old woman that everyone avoids probably represents death so everyone sorta knew it was coming but avert their eyes and pretended to not see her.

It was going to be someone and Padraic wasn't going to do nothing and let it be his best friend. He did finally give up at the end. Burning Colm's house wasn't revenge though, not really. More like doing it himself so his friend doesn't have to hurt himself more before finally ending it.

It was only then that Colm realized that his friend needed him and chose to live.

My father was born in western Ireland in the 1920s and I have been there many times, so I do have some understanding of the culture - and those aspects were well characterized. I guess if I want to watch something about life on an Irish island I will stick with Father Ted - rather than this film…

Fantastic comment, I think you hit it spot on!

Nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

The policeman is definitely “the Catholic Church” aka “the law”

Reposting my thoughts from a comment below, because I am curious to hear what others think:

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it seems like a lot is some kind of allegory for the civil war, but i honestly felt like the deepest thread in the film for me was just depression, existential crises, and how people handle them and how it affects the world around them.

Colm is depressed. His depression leads him to believe hes wasting his life and he needs to make drastic changes, but at the same time, hes somewhat overwhelmed by this feeling of needing to be something.

Hes depressed. And hes not handling it well. In fact, hes handling it terrible. So he alienates his best friend and essentially blames him for his issues (sort of, he does say its not you, but all the same, hes made colin farell the face of his issue). So he upends his life in an attempt to find what hes looking for but he doesnt find it. Because thats not his problem. His problem is he is fecking depressed.

Now the other interesting part of this is how this affects Pádraic. Pádraic is generally aloof and happy about it. He doesnt think deeply and in that, his life is happy. He wants for nothing, he is satisfied, for whatever that means. However the issues with Colm make him awaken a bit to his own self, but again, not in a healthy way. He doesnt wake up and say, oh god, I need more, instead, he fixates his ire on Colm, which is fair, since Colm is the catalyst.

The movie in my opinion is just this playing out with no one stepping in to really do anything.

In the end, I think Colm could actually be happier because him losing his hand has made his fever dream impossible, and therefore no longer a weight on his shoulders. But it cost something, Padraics innocent demeanor is gone and whats left is a hard and angry man who only wants to make colm miserable because thats what colm did to him. Its not rational, which is why they have that basically cordial conversation at the end. But it still is what it is.

Curious to hear other thoughts, but I cant see how depression doesnt play a huge factor in the narrative. I thought it was the whole point of the priest, no one went to therapy, but they told their priests how they felt and the priest knew he was depressed and kept asking him, are you gonna do anything about it to which colm says, nope.

Really great movie, a great set of actors top to bottom. Barry K nearly steals it in my opinion. To be such a vile, yet innocent character was interesting. His innocence when he says he loves the sister is just, brutal. So well done.

I need to watch that, he's definitely good at being creepy.

Well written and would largely agree! Even deeper it made me think of rural Ireland generally, feelings of being left behind by the world, poor rural communities that are too comfortable/afraid to leave, and drink themselves away with small pubs and trad music.

Barry Keoghan stole the movie!

You'll love it!

Oh for real. Such a tragic character.

My interpretation was - even in such forsaken place, people find their differences and inability to reconcile, to forgive. They can’t escape it, so their confrontation grows into this absurd standoff of forced friendship and desire to be left alone. The scenes of desolate shorelines and bleak landscapes invoking agoraphobic feelings accentuate that theme. It’s an Art House film, frankly one of few good ones I’ve seen since the Lighthouse with Willem Dafoe (minus supernatural elements).

I knew nothing about the movie before watching other than it received a lot of Oscar buzz. I really didn’t know what to make of it. The performances were amazing but it was such a sad story. One man’s goal to leave a legacy vs one man’s sadness over losing a lifelong friendship. It was beautifully done and I am still thinking about it several days later.