NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淭ime be flyin鈥�," it鈥檚 said in Martin McDonagh鈥檚 It鈥檚 a sentiment shared by McDonagh and his two stars, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who have reteamed 14 years after McDonagh鈥檚 pitch-black feature debut,
鈥淚t feels like not two days of passing,鈥� McDonagh said, shaking his head, on a recent fall day in New York while Farrell and Gleeson, sitting beside him, eagerly agree.
鈥淚t feels like we just went back in the room and said, 鈥橧t鈥檚 going to be a good one, isn鈥檛 it?鈥� says Gleeson.
The 2008 鈥淚n Bruges,鈥� which began the celebrated British-Irish playwright's transition from stage to screen, was a memorable dark comedy of two hitmen holed up in the medieval Belgian city. For Farrell鈥檚 character, who has just accidentally shot a boy on his first job, Bruges is a purgatory. 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin鈥� is likewise set in a specific locale: the Aran Islands off the west coast of Ireland. And a sense of existential doom is again palpable.
But the feud this time requires no guns and the rural 1920s backdrop is even more picturesque. After years of friendship and regular trips to the pub together, Colm Doherty (Gleeson) has decided that he just doesn鈥檛 like P谩draic S煤illeabh谩in (Farrell) anymore. This confounds P谩draic, who persistently tries to reingratiate himself to Colm. Eventually, Colm decides to make his demand for peace gruesomely clear.
鈥淧eople go, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛 just make a film about a guy who doesn鈥檛 want to be friends with another guy,鈥�" says Farrell. 鈥淲ell, that's how.鈥�
鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin,鈥� which opens in select theaters Friday before expanding nationwide, is a story of friends falling out made by a trio with abiding affection for one another. McDonagh wrote it with Gleeson and Farrell in mind. He first sent the two actors a draft seven years ago. (鈥淭hat was crap,鈥� says McDonagh. 鈥淚 loved it,鈥� says Farrell.) He later returned to it, preserving only the first five pages and digging deeper into the pair's relationship.
McDonagh, Gleeson and Farrell's pleasure in each other's company was easy to see when they convened at a hotel on the Upper West Side shortly after . The three had just stepped away from individual interviews over Zoom. 鈥淭ogether again!鈥� they exclaimed.
鈥淔rom the start, there was a deep sense of kinship and an understanding of each other,鈥� Farrell says. 鈥淚n a strange way, I understand myself more through Martin and his mind and his heart and his work. And I understand myself more through my interactions with Brendan.鈥�
鈥淚 think we all, basically, are romantics," adds Gleeson. "We鈥檙e not blind, either. We know the other side of the coin.鈥�
鈥淚n Bruges鈥� was well-received at the time and launched McDonagh as a filmmaker. ( : 鈥淓very once in a while you find a film like this, that seems to happen as it goes along, driven by the peculiarities of the characters.鈥�) But it also has only grown in stature over the years, and it remains a touchstone for all three. Farrell, who was then adjusting to the onset of fame, credits the film with reorienting his career.
鈥淚t meant a lot to me. I had genuinely lost sight of the fun and exploration and the journey of discovery that what we do for a living can be and should be. I was just going through the motions. It was at a stage of my life where there was a lot of change personally, and as a result of that professionally,鈥� says Farrell. 鈥淭he pilot light got ignited by 鈥業n Bruges.鈥欌��
鈥淏anshees鈥� preserves some of the 鈥淏ruges鈥� dynamic between Farrell and Gleeson. Gleeson again plays the more erudite of the two. Farrell is sweeter, less intelligent. There are other connections, too. It鈥檚 a throwaway line but Farrell begs Gleeson to go down to the pub in 鈥淚n Bruges.鈥� Gleeson鈥檚 response: 鈥淣o.鈥�
From the start, their banter together had a natural rhythm. 鈥淎n instantaneous mainlining into headquarters,鈥� says Gleeson.
鈥淚 think part of it is 鈥� Martin has the line 鈥� that we鈥檙e an odd-looking couple,鈥� adds Farrell. 鈥淲hat people see here are two people that look like they鈥檙e very different, sound like they鈥檙e very different and maybe even feel very different, and yet somehow that鈥檚 never articulated, we find out that they鈥檙e not so different, at all.鈥�
In 鈥淏anshees,鈥� Colm鈥檚 abrupt plea for solitude stems from his being tired of 鈥渁imless chatting.鈥� Feeling time slipping away, he wants to devote himself to writing music. (The song he's writing is titled 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin.鈥�) Their discord has symbolism; the Irish Civil War is raging on the mainland. But it most reflects the struggle of an artist, perhaps a self-serious one, to balance work with the demands of social convention.
鈥淎imless chatting,鈥� of course, is no small part of movie promotion 鈥� especially for a critically acclaimed film like 鈥淭he Banshees of Inisherin" forecast to play a major role through awards season. McDonagh鈥檚 previous film, and, this time, Farrell's performance . The trio pledged that this chat, at least, wasn鈥檛 aimless but, as Farrell said, 鈥済ood, normal chatting.鈥�
Still, it鈥檚 clear that the conflict in 鈥淏anshees鈥� is one McDonagh feels, himself.
鈥淭ime slips away with irrelevant nonsense all the time," McDonagh says. "A long time ago I said: I have to write one thing a year. If it takes two weeks, the rest of the year is free for anything. But you have to stick to that.鈥�
Reading, he grants, has gotten harder to make time for because of the Internet and phones. 鈥淎 curse!鈥� chimes Farrell. But the pandemic and the yearslong process to bring his last play, to Broadway, has led McDonagh to turn his focus entirely to films.
鈥淭hat I can鈥檛 show you how good we got 20 years ago is unfair,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a question I haven鈥檛 come to a concrete conclusion about. But there鈥檚 also a lack of democracy about theater. It鈥檚 too expensive and not enough people can see it. Unless you live in New York or London, you probably won鈥檛 see my stuff. Whereas a movie, not only is it going to last 20 years, 100 years if it鈥檚 a good one, you can get it anywhere. You can get it in Kansas City. You can get it in Ulaanbaatar. That鈥檚 democratic.鈥�
鈥淎ctually, I don鈥檛 think we open in Kansas City,鈥� Farrell adds, grinning.
But the 52-year-old McDonagh, like Gleeson鈥檚 Colm, is increasingly 鈥� 鈥渁lways, daily,鈥� he says 鈥� focused on what he鈥檚 going to leave behind, what work of his might endure.
鈥淚f there鈥檚, like, 25, 30 years left of one鈥檚 life, I think maybe 20 good films,鈥� McDonagh says hopefully. 鈥淚鈥檓 not swearing off plays. I鈥檓 pretty sure I will do at least one or two more. But I think in the next bunch of years it鈥檚 going to be films. I think COVID has solidified that idea. I can go back and watch 鈥業n Bruges鈥� now and be overjoyed at what we captured. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 leaning toward movies.鈥�
With that kind of long-term plan, a trilogy for Farrell and Gleeson could be natural. Where next? Venice? Iceland?
鈥淚鈥檝e got no idea what it will be when we get together again. But I think you鈥檙e right, that I鈥檒l find a place, I鈥檒l see the town and that will tell us the story,鈥� says McDonagh, musing on the geographical possibilities. 鈥淢aybe it鈥檚 the American West.鈥�
鈥淭he Geezers of Reykjav铆k!鈥� exclaims Farrell.
鈥滻'm in. I'm in. I'm in," says Gleeson, cackling. "Which geezer do I play?鈥�
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Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
