In a fictional island in Ireland in the 1920s (during the Irish Civil War), Pádraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson) are long-time friends and drinking buddies. Suddenly, Colm turns sour on Pádraic and ends the friendship, choosing to spend more of his time writing music. Pádraic is heartbroken and cannot accept the change.
In addition to the two main characters, there are other interesting ones that make up the mosaic of small-town life. They include Siobhán (Kerry Condon), Pádraic's sister with whom he shares the same family home where they grew up. Siobhán is the anchor of common sense (delivered with sharp wit) in a community filled with craziness. To the film's credit, it includes a good sub-story involving Siobhán.
There's also Domimic (Barry Keoghan) who lives with his abusive father, Peadar (Gary Lydon) - the island's only police officer. In the beginning, Dominic comes off as the archetypal village idiot but writer/director Martin McDonagh is too smart to leave the impression that Dominic is no more than a laughingstock. The effect of domestic violence has its scars shown clearly in this film. A scene between Dominic and Siobhán is quite moving and exposes depth in both characters plus great acting by Keoghan and Condon.
What initially seems comical (stubborn grudges) continually morphs into a serious heartbreaking drama. Interestingly, we never see the friendship and pub banter before Colm's sudden and determined decision to banish Pádraic. Colm's character also opens the debate of whether or not one can be creative without having to destroy friendships and other forms of self-destruction.
Farrell perfectly portrays Párdaic as someone filled with self-doubt. In his stubborn determination to win back Colm's friendship, he is believably cringeworthy as he stupidly makes matters worse but throughout, it's always easy to see the heartbreak that stops him from thinking clearly.
As the most shockingly dysfunctional character in the film, few could have pulled off the Colm role better than Gleeson. He is so powerful that in some rare scenes of showing "friendly relapse", it's easy to feel the same temporary relief and warmth as Párdaic does.
The film is sometimes harsh; often bizarre; and always stunning. The beautiful settings help too and McDonagh uses the camera perfectly to capture them. Emotions are felt well beyond the film's ending. And the superb cast deserves the highest praise including some animal characters who were rightly mentioned in the credits. - dbamateurcritic
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS:
In addition to the two main characters, there are other interesting ones that make up the mosaic of small-town life. They include Siobhán (Kerry Condon), Pádraic's sister with whom he shares the same family home where they grew up. Siobhán is the anchor of common sense (delivered with sharp wit) in a community filled with craziness. To the film's credit, it includes a good sub-story involving Siobhán.
There's also Domimic (Barry Keoghan) who lives with his abusive father, Peadar (Gary Lydon) - the island's only police officer. In the beginning, Dominic comes off as the archetypal village idiot but writer/director Martin McDonagh is too smart to leave the impression that Dominic is no more than a laughingstock. The effect of domestic violence has its scars shown clearly in this film. A scene between Dominic and Siobhán is quite moving and exposes depth in both characters plus great acting by Keoghan and Condon.
What initially seems comical (stubborn grudges) continually morphs into a serious heartbreaking drama. Interestingly, we never see the friendship and pub banter before Colm's sudden and determined decision to banish Pádraic. Colm's character also opens the debate of whether or not one can be creative without having to destroy friendships and other forms of self-destruction.
Farrell perfectly portrays Párdaic as someone filled with self-doubt. In his stubborn determination to win back Colm's friendship, he is believably cringeworthy as he stupidly makes matters worse but throughout, it's always easy to see the heartbreak that stops him from thinking clearly.
As the most shockingly dysfunctional character in the film, few could have pulled off the Colm role better than Gleeson. He is so powerful that in some rare scenes of showing "friendly relapse", it's easy to feel the same temporary relief and warmth as Párdaic does.
The film is sometimes harsh; often bizarre; and always stunning. The beautiful settings help too and McDonagh uses the camera perfectly to capture them. Emotions are felt well beyond the film's ending. And the superb cast deserves the highest praise including some animal characters who were rightly mentioned in the credits. - dbamateurcritic
RATING: 9 OUT OF 10
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENTS:
- Directing by Martin McDonagh
- Acting Ensemble.