A review of writer and director Martin McDonagh’s films and style.
Overview
Martin McDonagh has been one of my favorite film writers and directors for a long time. Although his body of work is rather small, every movie he’s made is consistently impressive, even his early work. First, let’s take a look at his films individually, then delve into his style as a whole.
**Content Warning: Child death, suicide, rape, self-harm**
In Bruges (2008)
Summary:
Irish hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are forced to lie low after Ray inadvertently kills an innocent child in the crossfire during his first job. Their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes) sends them to Bruges, a quaint little town in Belgium. Ken quickly learns that they were sent here because Harry means for Ken to kill Ray for what he’s done, but wanted to give Ray a nice trip first – as a courtesy – because Harry idealizes Bruges. Unfortunately, Ray is too torn up with guilt to appreciate the gesture and spends the entire time grumbling about Bruges. Ken, meanwhile, is torn between his loyalties to Harry and Ray, and must decide whether to go through with the order.
Review:
In Bruges is among the strongest debut director films out there. It has a refreshing uniqueness to it and left a huge impact on me from my first viewing many years ago. In fact, given the dichotomy of Harry’s opinion that Bruges is like a fairytale and Ray’s opinion that Bruges is the worst place in the world, it’s the only movie to ever inspire me to visit a specific place to see it for myself. I even made sure to visit some of the landmarks of the film, like the tower, and the gazebo where my favorite scene takes place:
The main appeal of the film lies in the characters, particularly Ken and Harry. Although Harry doesn’t appear – outside of his voice on a phone call – until halfway through, he’s always been an intriguing character to me. He may be a hitman’s leader, but he’s also a man of principles and sticks unwaveringly to his personal set of morals. Similarly, Ken has worked with Harry for a long time and has a strong history bonding them, but when this new situation arises, he’s torn between this history and his own set of morals.
All throughout, we’re also seeing Ray struggle with his depression and guilt over what happened. Although Ray can be a bit of a jerk at times, it’s clear that he’s floundering and verging on suicidal, and really just looking for some reason to keep going.
On top of all this is a layer of dry humor running through the film in the most delightful way. I also always found it so interesting that five of the most prominent characters are also in Harry Potter: Voldemort (Fiennes, who in this plays a character named Harry… oh, the irony), Mad-Eye Moody (Gleeson), Fleur Delacour (Clemence Poesy), Aberforth Dumbledore (Ciaran Hinds), and Graves (Farrell) in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), who wasn’t even a character yet when I watched In Bruges the first time.
My one complaint is the insensitive way Ray treats Jimmy (Jordan Prentice), due to him being a dwarf. He uses a different term, even after being told this is Jimmy’s preferred term, and all around makes tactless remarks about little people in general. However, I feel like this is less a reflection of McDonagh’s view of little people (especially considering Peter Dinklage plays the sweetest character in one of his later movies) and more an example of Ray’s personality specifically. Still, those parts make me cringe a bit, but the rest of the film is so worth it.
Seven Psychopaths (2012)
Summary:
Martin (Farrell) is writing a screenplay called Seven Psychopaths, but he’s struggling to come up with the psychopaths for the story – not to mention the plot. He takes inspiration from people around him, especially his best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell), who desperately wants to help him with his screenplay and even sets up an ad asking for psychopaths to share their tales with Martin. Billy, meanwhile, runs a scam with Hans (Christopher Walken) where they kidnap dogs, wait for the owners to put up missing posters, then return the dogs to collect the reward. When they kidnap the dog of mob boss Charlie (Woody Harrelson), Martin finds himself dragged into the middle of the chaos, but at least it’s the perfect type of chaos he needs for his screenplay.
Review:
I love this movie. It was the first McDonagh movie I saw, and from the first viewing I was captivated by every scene. It’s also one of those movies that is great to rewatch because you catch things early on that are more significant once you have the insight of later reveals. The way each character weaves in and out of the story, particularly the psychopaths in Martin’s list, adds more depth to the plot as it goes. It’s also probably the most entertaining of the set, with the most action and humor throughout.
This movie is a really great example of meta done right. I mean, the main character is literally an Irish screenwriter named Martin (presumably after McDonagh) who is writing a script with the same name as the movie. All throughout the film, the events influence Martin’s screenplay and vice versa. Halfway through, Martin even says how he’d ideally like for the midpoint of the screenplay to go, which resembles their actions at that point.
The highlight of the film is Sam Rockwell, and this is one of his best roles. Every time he shows up, every line he says, every mannerism, it’s all just perfect for him. He’s the embodiment of chaos and a character unlike any I’ve really seen before or since.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Summary:
Frustrated by the lack of police action following the brutal murder of her daughter Angela (Kathryn Newton), Mildred (Frances McDermott) rents three billboards along the drive into town to display this message:
“Raped while dying
And still no arrests?
How come, Chief Willoughby?”
Needless to say, the police department isn’t thrilled by this, nor are many of the town’s residents. For his part, Willoughby (Harrelson) genuinely wishes there was more he could do, but he’s limited by lack of evidence, not to mention dealing with his own recent cancer diagnosis. One of his officers, Dixon (Rockwell), is also less than helpful on the investigation, infamous around town for his bigotry and police brutality. But Mildred is determined to get justice for Angela, no matter the cost.
Review:
Although this isn’t my overall favorite of the set, this is the one that always manages to hit me in the feels. There’s just something about Willoughby’s subplot that, though a small part of the movie, is beautifully done. His dynamic with Mildred is also fascinating because she is the main character and they are at odds, but he’s not a bad guy. In fact, he’s one of the best people in the movie and does the best he can in all regards. It’s not his fault that this is a particularly tough case to solve. He and Mildred have a natural rivalry when talking about the case, and Mildred doesn’t back down even though she knows about his diagnosis, though when he has a medical emergency in the middle of a heated discussion, she immediately changes tone and becomes supportive.
Rockwell again stands out, though in a different way. This time he starts out very unlikable, but has a particularly interesting character arc. Some have argued that such an awful person shouldn’t have been portrayed with a redemption arc, but of all the characters in all of McDonagh’s films, Dixon is the one who changes the most along the way and I think that is a good thing. He starts out the product of his environment, and it becomes clear throughout the course of the story that his mother (Sandy Martin) has a lot of influence in the negative, toxic aspects of his personality, but still he manages to put in extreme effort to make a change and be a better person once he finally understands he doesn’t have to be the person he was raised to be. This is an important message to convey, especially since it’s not uncommon for people to start off with awful ideals just because they were raised to believe them. What really matters is the capacity to make a change when presented with more information.
The Banshees of Inisherin (2022)
Summary:
After many years of friendship, Padraic (Farrell) is flabbergasted when Colm (Gleeson), with no preamble or explanation, declares he doesn’t want to be friends anymore. At first thinking he must have done or said something specific to upset him, Padraic tries to make amends, but Colm elaborates just enough to clarify that it wasn’t any one thing. He just decided he finds Padraic to be dull and a waste of his time, which could be better spent composing and playing the fiddle. When Padraic can’t let this go, Colm takes it further by threatening to cut off his own fingers each time Padraic talks to him, starting with his left hand, which is the more important hand for fiddle playing. Their feud is exasperated by the fact that they live on the tiny Irish island of Inisherin where everyone knows each other and that they were best friends, and it’s difficult to avoid each other.
Review:
The thing that makes this movie so engaging is that Colm’s actions are so extreme. Who in their right mind would threaten self-mutilation if someone simply talks to them? And, as many characters point out throughout the film, his reasoning is so minor as well – he’s doing this just because he finds someone to be dull? It’s not like Padraic is a toxic person or something, Colm just thinks he’s boring. In fact, Colm even begins spending more time instead with local policeman Peadar (Gary Lydon), who is known to abuse his son Dominic (Barry Keoghan), which Padraic can’t fathom since Peadar is a way worse person than Padraic. Even more baffling is the fact that a large part of his reasoning to avoid Padraic is because he wants to focus on his music, but his ultimatum means that if Padraic disobeys his request, he’ll make it all the more difficult for himself to play music, which seems counterproductive. It’s this baseline of absurdity that draws both the characters and the viewers into the story, desperate to understand why someone would do such an unthinkable thing.
In trying to reason this out, it is important to note that this is a period piece, set during the final weeks of the Irish civil war in the 1920s. Presumably, based on this context, the relationship between the two friends is an allegory for the war, which turned long time allies against each other. Additionally, although the title is directly referenced as the name of one of Colm’s new songs, to which Padraic replies that there are no real banshees in Inisherin, it’s implied that the black cloaked elderly Mrs. McCormick (Sheila Flitton) could be a form of banshee herself. Her appearances are generally an omen and she even correctly prophesies that death is coming soon. It’s possible that her ominous presence is a contributing factor to the dissension between the two former friends, though this is never explicitly stated.
This movie definitely sparks a lot of thought and debate, with plentiful conversations about what it means to be a nice person, what really matters in the grand scheme of things, and how far someone is willing to go in different contexts. It’s also interesting to contemplate how the two men are impacted by Colm’s decision. By the end of the film, both have lost pretty much everything that matters to them, not just their friendship, but at least Colm brought this on himself, while Padraic didn’t really get much of a say in any of this.
Style and Themes
There a lot of things that make McDonagh’s works so great, but there are two particular standouts. First, the plots are always incredibly unique. None of the stories can really be compared to anything else, except maybe Three Billboards, which does have elements that resemble other media, though it still goes about it in an unusual way. But even with that factor, the plots themselves are always more of a backdrop to the McDonagh’s best aspect: the characters. Regardless of what is happening, the character arcs and actions are the most important part of any of the movies. There’s a real depth to every single one of them, even characters like Harry or Dixon who you wouldn’t expect.
Aside from these two major points, there are also some other common elements in his work. They all feature some humor, even in the midst of serious situations. Most of the movies end leaving you with a few questions, as certain things are left unresolved or unexplained. This is clearly intentional and meant to make you spend extra time mulling over the movie and theorizing things for yourself, instead of handing you all the info so you can walk away and forget it. Three of the four films have the name of a city in the title, and certainly the settings of each are almost as important as the characters. What’s interesting about this is that the only movie that doesn’t mention the city, Seven Psychopaths, is also the only one set in a major town, LA. Bruges, Ebbing, and Inisherin are all small towns, which factors heavily into the interactions between the characters. Each movie has at least one character death, and it’s often not the person you would predict. Also, while this isn’t present in all films, some of them have prominent animals that mean a lot to the characters – Seven Psychopaths even makes a point to ensure all the animals survive, despite this being the movie with the highest death count.
Additionally, as many other directors do, McDonagh often brings back the same actors multiple times. Considering he only has four movies at the time of this writing, there are at least six actors who appear in multiple films, and three of the films even have Farrell as the main actor, with two of those three pairing him with Gleeson. I’m hoping now that Keoghan has shown up in his latest movie, he’ll be another returning actor, because he’s always fantastic in everything he appears in.
One final thing to mention is that overall, each film is simply beautifully written. Not everyone can pull off being both a director and a writer, but McDonagh does it with ease. Every scene is masterfully crafted with an expert use of dialogue, setting, and pacing to convey the story as a whole. Each movie manages to bring together all the various aspects from along the way into a meaningful and often unpredictable ending. I can’t recommend this director highly enough. All of McDonagh’s films will make you laugh, cry, gasp, and think and leave you in awe, no matter which one you watch.
Personal Ranking
- Seven Psychopaths
- In Bruges
- Banshees of Inisherin
- Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri