.

Wanna see a grown man cry?

Of course you don’t. And don’t worry. I won’t be the cause of any lacrymal flooding this time around, but…

… it was disappointing when the movie The Banshees of Inisherin didn’t ever come to my local theatre. Bah Humbug says I!

One of the most difficult parts – for me – of living through the COVID era (are we truly through the COVID era yet, or are we part of an unending Twilight Zone episode of human history?) was an inability to visit the Landmark 7 movie theatres in Penticton.

Difficult for 2 reasons:

  1. Theatres offer disgustingly unhealthy popcorn that I admit to gobbling down like the Jaws beast chewing on Robert Shaw, yes? Do NOT sit in front of me in a cinema if you don’t wish a fluffy snowshower of popcorn dross.
  2. The movie experience is multiple times more enjoyable when it is uninterrupted by phones, doorbells, and errant ADHD thoughts that need attending to immediately. Plus, the sound and visual qualities are at superhuman scale. Movies seen on a TV screen are never as satisfying. Can we agree? Case closed.

The movie theatres have reopened now… and I’m finding more and more that they’re being gummed up with countless crash and bang MARVELlous superhero and raucous Vin This and Rock That kind of flicks that have little appeal beyond the tweens and 20’s crowd that crave non-stop action and explosives.

Yes, I’m growing old and my demographic isn’t in vogue for theatrical releases.

.

So what is MY demographic?

Well, I really enjoy thought-provoking, dialogue-heavy, mixture of comedy/drama… films. Could be rom-coms (When Harry Met Sally, Serendipity)

… or buddy flicks (Butch Cassidy, Rainman, Thelma and Louise)

… or historic (Schindler’s List, Dances With Wolves, All The President’s Men)

… or a clever comedy (Life of Brian, Deadpool, Fargo)

… or anything written by Aaron Sorkin.

…..

.

To whit… The Banshees of Inisherin… is a buddy flick… a saga of requited love turning unrequited… bromance gone sour.

Two of my current favourite actors, and the co-stars of “The Banshees…” are Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. Loved them both in the 2008 movie, In Bruges.

They are the quintessential “opposites attract” personalities, the odd couple that produces a hilarious mismatch of intention and action.

So where’s this surprise you’ve mentioned Larry?

This story today contains a double surprise:

The first was, even though the movie is still in theatres (just not mine), it is also available on Disney+ streaming, which my son-in-law set up on my screen during the Christmas break. No additional cost. A great bargain for watching a movie I’d been waiting to see for months. Of course it was minus the popcorn, but fortunately, alas, we do hold black belts in kitchen popcorn making. Presto… as efficient as waving my Harry Potter wand, we had popcorn and The Banshees of Inisherin on our home screen. It really is magic. That’s surprise #1.

Surprise #2 is – without giving plot-lines away – I was expecting a fun, funny, laugh-a-minute buddy comedy with a tiny bit of despondency and bittersweetness, adorned with a beautiful bonus of sensational Irish countryside. Well, turn that around and you have the real story to this flick. It’s filled with heartbreaking pathos with a few side glimmers of humour, none of it uproarious. WTH!!

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoyed this movie. The acting, writing, photography were all wonderful.

The film is worth watching if only for the bucolic scenery of County Galway and County Mayo’s Aran Islands, off Ireland’s west coast. The rock fences, the ocean vistas, the lush farmlands, provide graceful panoramas of Elysian fields.

And despite the melancholy impression left afterwards, I still haven’t lost my boy crush on actors Gleeson and Farrell.

I just wanted a syrupy buddy movie where the main protagonists come together, finally, in the end like Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks, and live happily ever after.

Was this too much to ask for my sentimental heart?

To my surprise, the answer was… laconically… AYE…

PS. Tissue alert: Farrell’s pet donkey will bring as many tears as any character on the screen this year…