On a small Irish island in 1923, a gentle farmer is told by his lifelong friend that he no longer wants to speak to him. Neither man can stop what follows. McDonagh's fable uses a petty dispute as a mirror for every human conflict that can't be resolved.
The Banshees of Inisherin is a 2022 comedy and drama film directed by Martin McDonagh. This breakdown covers 4 techniques (1 cinematography and 3 narrative), each with the scene where you can see it. If you like how it is made, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri uses several of the same techniques.
Treating a small town as more than a setting. Its buildings, lighting and relationships show the community's values and limits, which shape what the characters can do and what gets destroyed.
How this film uses it
Inisherin is an island, so there is literally no way off it. Every person on it sees every turn in the conflict between Pádraic and Colm. The geography is the moral trap. Nobody is anonymous, no ground is neutral and neither man gets any distance from the results of his choices. The island is what makes the logic of the fable airtight.
Where to see it
The pub scenes. The entire community is the audience for the conflict. The island is small enough that a private grievance is bound to go public.
Giving a film 2 very different tones, such as comedy and tragedy, often split into halves. Each makes the other hit harder, and the film never blends them into 1.
How this film uses it
The premise is plainly funny: a man ends a friendship because the other man is dull. The consequences are devastating. McDonagh keeps both tones going. The comedy never softens the tragedy, and the tragedy never makes the comedy feel out of place. The split in tone is the point, because this is what small conflicts really lead to.
Where to see it
Colm's self-mutilation. The act is absurdly extreme and also completely in keeping with the film's logic, so you can't separate the comedy from the horror.
Writing an opponent the film never fully labels as evil. Their motives mix ordinary human wants with real harm, and they may even help the hero grow.
How this film uses it
Colm is wrong to do what he does but right about why he does it. Pádraic is right to be hurt but wrong in how he responds. Siobhán is the most reasonable person and has the least power. McDonagh makes every position understandable until judging anyone is nearly impossible, which is the point.
Where to see it
Colm explaining his decision. He argues for putting artistic legacy ahead of human connection. The results are wrong, and the reasoning behind it is partly sound.
Building up to a big emotional release slowly, by investing in the characters and giving small bits of hope. When the release comes, it feels deserved after all the suffering.
How this film uses it
The film ends on the beach with both men and nothing resolved. The release here comes from recognition. Pádraic and Colm understand what has happened between them and what it has cost, and neither can undo it. You feel it because the film is so honest about what a conflict leaves behind when it can't be reversed.
Where to see it
The final exchange on the beach. Colm apologises for Jenny's death and Pádraic says some things there's no moving on from. The release comes from saying it out loud while nothing gets resolved.
Questions
The Banshees of Inisherin: quick answers
What filmmaking techniques does The Banshees of Inisherin use?
CineCode breaks down 4 techniques in The Banshees of Inisherin (2022): Small Town as Moral Geography, Tonal Bifurcation, Ambiguous Antagonist and Earned Catharsis.
Who directed The Banshees of Inisherin?
Martin McDonagh directed The Banshees of Inisherin, released in 2022. CineCode also covers In Bruges (2008), Seven Psychopaths (2012), Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
What films are similar to The Banshees of Inisherin?
Films that share techniques with The Banshees of Inisherin include Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017), The Deer Hunter (1978), Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Whiplash (2014).
