Pádraic (Colin Farrell) is left confused and isolated when lifelong friend Colm (Brendan Gleeson) suddenly cuts off their friendship.

The Banshees Of Inisherin

Release date - 21st October, Cert - 15,

Run-time - 1 hours 54 minutes,

Director - Martin McDonagh

It’s best not to go into The Banshees Of Inisherin expecting In Bruges. While reteaming, Colin Farrell and Bredan Gleeson with writer-director Martin McDonagh, it doesn’t strike the same dark coldness that the latter features. The darkness of the comedy within Banshees is much more subdued, lying in the background of the main events and occasionally released in explosive bursts.

Many of which are included as part of the increasing anger of Gleeson’s Colm as he threatens Farrell’s Pádraic against talking to him. The two have been friends for as long as the latter can remember, however when Colm suddenly starts refusing to speak to his former pub-mate Pádraic finds himself increasingly confused and isolated, seemingly not understanding the idea of “one boring man leaving the other man alone”. All this only increases as Colm threatens to cut off one of his fingers and send it to him if he dares interact with him again.

It’s in such moments that the subtle darkness of the film comes through. There’s a dead-pan nature which makes much of the humour that runs throughout the film highly successful. Wonderfully delivered by the two leads, and indeed the supporting cast, which includes Barry Keoghan (playing well against type) and Kerry Condon (as Pádraic’s frustrated and empathetic sister Siobhán), there’s plenty of strong one-liners and conflictions between the central pairing to bring about laughs.

As the film dots throughout its fictional island we see a backdrop of the Irish Civil War - unfolding in various explosions just over the water on the mainland. It may not majorly interfere with the overall narrative but it creates a light backing to the tensions at play. The more we see of them, and indeed general other locations and pathways of the island, the more the film appears to expand itself and actually feel more like a warranted feature. In the opening stages the events of McDonagh’s, who started out writing for theatre, screenplay feel as if they could be played out on a stage. But, once past the setup things begin to open up as you’re caught up within the characters and the stripped-back course they find themselves on.

The base idea of one friend refusing to talk to the other may sound childlike - it’s acknowledged in the film, “what is he twelve?” - however for much of the run-time you truly believe that these are fully-grown adults interacting, and as the film develops, failing to do so. It comes through in the comedy and the threats which hang in the background but are continuously reminded of as key points to the tone, style and structure of the film as a whole. Mixing together tones which McDonagh has played with before while feeling something different from him. Those going in expecting ‘In Bruges’ won’t be met with that, but should find an entertainingly subdued darkness between the two brilliantly performed leads. Jamie Skinner -Four stars