“The Banshees of Inisherin,” Martin McDonagh’s multi-award-winning film, has received plenty of critical acclaim since its premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September. And rightly so, as it showcased McDonagh’s black whimsy, as well as superb performances from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and, of course, Barry Keoghan. The film, however, has come in for some criticism, particularly due to McDonagh’s portrayal of Ireland and, well, Irishness. The review here on Irish Film Critic talked of McDonagh being “up to his usual tricks again,” which is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you enjoy McDonagh’s vision of Irishness. But there must be an acceptance that this is a stylized version of Ireland.
“Banshees” isn’t the first, nor will it be the last, film to sit uncomfortably with some viewers in terms of its stereotypes. Our goal is not to critique it in its entirety here except to point out that it does provide an interesting case study for the question of Ireland on screen. As mentioned, “Banshees” received broad critical acclaim, including from the Academy Awards, but there were some who argued that the film sat better with international critics than domestic critics. Closer to home, there was talk of too many “Paddyisms” and that the film was “dangerously ahistorical.” McDonagh himself drew the ire of some on social media, with some pointing out that he, a Londoner, had incubated an Ireland – seen on other films like “Calvary” – that never existed in the first place.
Ireland sits comfortably with its fictionalized symbolism
As a nation, Ireland tends to shrug off the stereotypes or, at least, not be overly offended. Sure, there are times when certain depictions of Ireland can raise the collective ire; consider the backlash to some of the coverage of Joe Biden’s recent visit by the British press as an example. But, by and large, the Irish take the faux depictions with good humor. You might raise an eyebrow when someone posts on social media about Ireland being some enchanted fairyland, and you might even correct them, but it rarely evolves into anger.
There is, of course, a marketability for an idealized and completely fictionalized concept of Ireland. We see it in the gift shops at home and the pubs abroad. We see it in the giant hats sold and the dyed green rivers on St Patrick’s Day. The symbolism of Leprechauns and lucky horseshoes are everpresent in Irish-themed online slot games like Gold Party, as well as hundreds of others that you’ll find lined up in rows at Las Vegas casinos. This is a marketing of a fictional Ireland, and most of us are happy with that. The problem, when it comes to film, however, is that the ‘real’ Ireland is perhaps not just as interesting, particularly for an international audience with preconceptions.
Without trying to sound too philosophical – what is modern Ireland? It is one of the world’s richest countries. It has a highly educated youth population. It is a global tech hub (with some generous tax gifts for the world’s largest multinationals). It has an ongoing housing crisis. Growing concern about inequality. And it has a sense of unease about dealing with the religious institutionalism that characterized its past and some of its present. None of those elements seem very pitchable thematically to movie executives.
How to play to an international audience
2004’s “Intermission” was an attempt to make a film about a gritty and realistic Ireland, or more succinctly, Dublin. While flawed, it starred Colin Farrell at his peak as a leading man (he had just finished “Phone Booth,” “SWAT,” and “The Recruit”), as well as the up-and-coming Cillian Murphy. Despite good reviews, it scraped in $4.9 million at the global box office on a budget of $5 million. Much of the humor in Mark O’Rowe’s script was esoterical (putting brown sauce in your cup of tea, for instance), and that almost puts a ceiling on how far a movie like this can play to international audiences.
The point is not that an independent Irish film about a ‘real’ modern Ireland can’t make a splash internationally, but rather there is a blueprint for directors to follow for those films that do. This is not a problem limited to Ireland. The Cockney-Gangster London that Guy Ritchie portrayed in a bunch of films in the 2000s is as antithetical to the reality of London as anything that is put on screen about Ireland. These are stylized versions of reality. And, indeed, all film tends to dip at least one toe into that water.
We can, of course, look back to films like “Darby O’Gill and the Little People” and be thankful that they would not be made today. The crude stereotypes would raise the ire of even the most nonchalant Irish person. But perhaps the question is what we will think of stylized Irish films of the future. As mentioned, Ireland has been transformed in recent years. A confident, advanced, rich country with a growing comfortableness of its voice in Europe and on the international stage. Dipping into the well of fictional Ireland, whether it be romanticized or not, may not play as well with international audiences should it be so untethered from reality.
