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New s & Com m en t ar y By
Joh n M cNally "Everyone seems to agree the cinematography and the acting make the film watchable."
I r ish Ar ts & Enter tainment
Feabhr a
Th e Ban sh ees of In ish er in The Banshees of Inisherin is an Ir ish f ilm n om in at ed f or a r ecor d n in e Oscar s (an d it h as alr eady w on t h r ee Golden Globes), is t h is m on t h's popu lar don n ybr ook . Is it a dar k com edy f u ll of sym bolism or an u n f u n n y, m acabr e por t r ayal of Ir ish people livin g on an Islan d of f t h e West coast of Ir elan d in 1923? Ir elan d h as r eceived a t ot al of 14 n om in at ion s f or t h e Academ y Aw ar ds, in clu din g An Cailín Ciú in bein g t h e f ir st Ir ish -lan gu age f ilm t o be n om in at ed f or best in t er n at ion al f ilm . Ot h er n om in at ion s in clu de Pau l M escal f or Best Act or f or h is r ole in Af t er su n , u p again st Colin Far r ell. Th e Ir ish sh or t f ilm An Ir ish Goodbye f or Best Live-Act ion Sh or t . Du blin er s Rich ar d Ban eh am w as n om in at ed f or best Special Ef f ect s f or h is w or k on Avat ar : Th e Way of Wat er an d Jon at h an Redm on d f or edit in g Elvis. Ker r y Con don , w h o plays Far r ell's sist er in Ban sh ees, h as r eceived a n om in at ion f or Best Su ppor t in g Act r ess. Sh e h ad t h e on ly r edeem able r ole in t h e f ilm , w h ile M ar t in M cDon agh r eceived a n om in at ion f or Best Dir ect or . It w as t h e f ilm s w r it in g t h at w as con t r over sial. Ever yon e seem s t o agr ee t h e cin em at ogr aph y an d t h e act in g m ak e t h e f ilm w at ch able. Bu t disagr ee on t h e scr een play an d plot as eit h er dist u r bin g self -m u t ilat ion or a m ast er f u l m ix of h u m or an d t r agedy. In addit ion t o t h e scen er y an d set t in g, I en joyed t h e f ilm 's st er eot ypical ch ar act er s: t h e w it ch -lik e old lady, t h e gobsh it e, t h e gossip, t h e degen er at e m ach o-policem an , an d t h e ar ch aic slan g. View er s ar e split ; I f eel t h e plot is t oo in san e t o be con sider ed a dar k com edy or exem plar y of Ir ish eccen t r icit ies. Wh at I appr eciat ed abou t t h e debat es ar ou n d Ban sh ees is t h at n on e of t h e com m en t at or s r esor t ed t o per son al at t ack s again st t h ose w h o in t er pr et ed t h e f ilm dif f er en t ly.
Joh n M cNally, ou r f eat u r ed w r it er an d Ir ish Com m u n it y Act ivist an d Colu m n ist sh ar es h is t h ou gh t s on t h e lat est n ew s an d t r en ds con cer n in g Ir elan d an d Ir ish Am er ica. Dif f er en t opin ion s an d view s ar e essen t ial in an y. f r ee societ y. We deeply appr eciat e ou r pr ess f r eedom s. Now , m or e t h an ever , it is im por t an t t o h ave Ir ish Com m u n it y act ivism , diver sit y an d in pu t .