Colin Farrell and his triumphant performance in ‘The Banshees of Inisherin’

At 46 years old, Irish actor Colin Farrell is once again favorably mentioned by international critics thanks to his role in drama, irish western —a genre probably newly invented—, The Banshees of InisherinDirected by Martin McDonagh.

“The Banshees of Inisherin It is the story of an island, the small group of people in that town and two friends who at the beginning of the film are forced, by the decision of one of them, to go their separate ways.”Farrell explained (Minority Report, Alexander), who plays Pádraic in the film: “The friend who finds it particularly hard to deal with it.”

Although, seen from afar, the film’s plot may sound minimalist and even uninteresting, McDonagh’s reputation and ability to escalate the tension among the inhabitants of an apparently calm town precede her. In 2017, his tape Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouriabout a mother who protests against local police when authorities fail to catch the man who raped and murdered her daughter, rose as lOscar winner for best film and added other awards for its protagonists, Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell.

In this case, Farrell’s happy-go-lucky character opens the tape, which gradually changes tone. Pádraic and his best friend, Colm (Brendan Gleeson), They meet every day at 2:00 p.m. to go for a drink at the only pub of the island. But, on a certain day in particular, everything changes.. Colm ignores Pádraic when he calls out to him. Pádraic then reacts, initially, surprised; then shocked; and finally, heartbroken, especially since Colm hasn’t given any clear reason for ending their decades-long friendship.

According to Farrel, Having been part of the project from the beginning (even having read a first script that ended up being discarded), allowed him to get to know and correctly interpret his character. He is also convinced that the story quickly overcomes any kind of prejudice that the audience may have about meeting these simple characters and he just invites them to get to know them honestly during the movie, because in a way we are all versions of them.

“The speed with which his scenes can change tone amazes me.”Farrell said of McDonagh’s work. “One of the things I love about Martin’s writing is that it lacks malice.“, keep going. “Some of the characters he introduces to the audience can be incredibly malicious and cruel, and some of the events can be beyond macabre, but you never detect any malice from the writer, from the voice of his creator.”

Although Farrell recently surprised with his performance as The Penguin in batman (directed by Matt Reeves and finally released in 2022), the actor is convinced that McDonagh’s projects are unlike any other.

“He’s a good guy: Pádraic,” Farrell explains of his character. “A nice and simple boy. He is happy as long as his animals are fed and if he has a few cents in his pocket to have a few beers and chat with his friend Colm of his every day. As long as all that happens, then life is great. So when Colm ends their friendship, Pádraic descends into sadness, loneliness and anger. It falls apart. He’s nowhere near as happy as he used to be.“, keep going.

Farrell already won a Golden Globe in 2009, when he also acted under the direction of McDonagh in In Bruges.