Silence Has a Weight

ByLinnea Bergstrom
Title: The Banshees of Inisherin
Watchable:
Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh
Lead Performances: Colin Farrell (Pádraic), Brendan Gleeson (Colm), Kerry Condon (Siobhan)

The Banshees of Inisherin contains a scene where Colm tells Pádraic that he no longer likes him which delivered a powerful impact to me. His direct way of speaking produced a stronger effect on me than his strong words did. We dedicate numerous years to fake affection because we want to preserve our relationships through routine and social pressure and fear of being alone. Social bonds experience a breakdown when people display their dislike for others directly.

Martin McDonagh shows through his writing that friendships ending produce emotional pain which matches or exceeds the pain from losing romantic relationships. People believe friendships should stay basic and free from emotions because they function as backup social connections during times of romantic relationship breakdown. The empty yet attractive scenery of Inisherin transforms into Pádraic's individual world as he tries to understand why his friendly nature has become insignificant to others. Pádraic asks Colm to remember his previous acts of kindness because he believes true friendship needs mutual affection between friends.

McDonagh explores the actual theme which demonstrates how people suffer when others choose to dedicate their time to different activities. Colm declares in his statement that he will no longer waste time on meaningless things while he decides which person deserves to exist during our remaining time. The process of Pádraic accepting rejection becomes unbearable to watch because Colin Farrell shows his character testing different personas to determine which one deserves to stay.

The concept of loneliness spreading from person to person kept repeating in my mind. The main character's social isolation drives all characters including Dominic and Mrs. McCormick and Siobhan to express their feelings through different ways. The residents of this island maintain separate dialogues about their understanding of social bonds and their duties toward others and their beliefs about being uninteresting as the worst possible offense against people. The Civil War continues to rage outside the island while the two men struggle to understand how to end their painful relationship.

The fingers. God, the fingers. The fairy tale-like sequence of Colm cutting off his fingers one by one eliminates all rational thinking. The action makes perfect emotional sense although it defies all logical explanation. The action I describe represents a universal human experience because we all have experienced this same desperation. People reveal their internal damage to others through statements which show the actual cost they have endured. Through his performance Gleeson brings Colm to life with such exhausted nobility that he makes Pádraic's suffering at Colm's hands almost unnoticeable.

The donkey Jenny stays with me because of her significance in the film. Through his affection for Jenny Pádraic shows the film's broken heart because he gives her love without expecting anything in return. McDonagh shows a more genuine and frightening conclusion than conventional catharsis through the devastating events that happen to his characters. The two men remain trapped in their destroyed relationship while the space between them becomes forever tainted by their mutual pain.

Linnea Bergstrom

Linnea Bergström is a Stockholm-based film critic with a background in psychology, film studies, and comparative literature. Her writing focuses on the emotional architecture of cinema, with particular attention to performance, memory, identity, and the quiet ways films reveal human connection. She is especially drawn to character-driven dramas, contemplative arthouse films, and stories about people searching for belonging. Her criticism approaches film less as something to solve than something to sit with, question, and feel through.