Opinion

Jake O'Kane: The Banshees of Inisherin won't be for everyone, but I loved it

My investment of time was greatly rewarded as I loved The Banshees of Inisherin. Not that this should be taken as unequivocal recommendation; I can understand why some won't warm to it...

Jake O'Kane

Jake O'Kane

Jake is a comic, columnist and contrarian.

Seamus O'Hara and James Martin star in An Irish Goodbye, a Northern Ireland film which is in the running for an Academy Award
Seamus O'Hara and James Martin star in An Irish Goodbye, a Northern Ireland film which is in the running for an Academy Award Seamus O'Hara and James Martin star in An Irish Goodbye, a Northern Ireland film which is in the running for an Academy Award

I wrote last week of my bewilderment at the BBC's sketchy coverage of the story of Conservative party chairman, Nadhim Zahawi, paying millions in tax after a dispute with HM Revenue & Customs.

That story has continued to gain traction, with reports Zahawi had been in negotiations with the HMRC over his taxes whilst holding the role of Chancellor, which would appear to be a textbook definition of a conflict of interest.

Why Zahawi, with a personal fortune of over £100 million, was - as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer challenged prime minister Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons this week - "seeking to avoid tax" whilst serving at the very top of government is a question for a psychologist.

We also learned during the week that BBC chairman Richard Sharp is to have his appointment reviewed by a watchdog after it was revealed he had helped Boris Johnson obtain a £800k loan.

  • Colin Farrell ‘beyond honoured' to receive first best actor Oscar nomination
  • An Irish Goodbye actor ‘burst out crying’ over short film’s Oscar nomination
  • The Banshees of Inisherin for the best film? No feckin' chance
  • Sci-fi hit Everything Everywhere All At Once leads the field at this year's Academy Awards

It would be wrong to connect these two stories, but it's interesting that the man anointed by Johnson oversees a BBC seemingly reticent to properly report on a Tory scandal.

I'm sure Johnson would argue that things have come to a sorry state when a decent chap can't give another decent chap a job, who subsequently introduced him to a third decent chap willing to loan him a few hundred thousand pounds. How could anyone view that as dodgy?

With Sunak scoring an own goal by receiving his second police caution, this time for not wearing a seatbelt, it looked like the Conservatives were in a death dive.

Some comfort for them but not necessarily for us came from Tory grandee, Michael Heseltine, who highlighted the British electorate's short memory and argued the next general election won't be decided by egregious mistakes of the past, but by the state of the economy on election day.

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I WAS in two minds whether to watch Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin after hearing conflicting reports from those who had either loved or hated it.

As it features in this year's Oscars, and is an Irish production, I decided to take the risk.

My investment of time was greatly rewarded as I loved the film. Not that this should be taken as unequivocal recommendation; I can understand why some won't warm to it.

McDonagh deconstructs previous Irish productions such as the The Field and Ryan's Daughter to create a unique dystopic version of rural Ireland in the 1920s.

As always with a McDonagh film, the tragedy is coated with a patina of sardonic black Irish humour.

A clue to its darkness is that having watched this film, you'll no longer say someone pointing one finger has three pointing back, but rather they've none pointing back...

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson take the main roles and their chemistry is equal to any of the silver screen's double acts. On this outing, it's Farrell who steals the show with what should take this year's Oscar for best actor.

Gleeson isn't ignored, receiving a nomination along with Barry Keoghan for best supporting actor. Keoghan's performance alone justifies watching the film and those old enough to remember Ryan's Daughter will recognise the similarity between Keoghan's character and the one played by John Mills, who picked up best supporting actor in 1971.

With other nominations in the best screenplay, supporting actress, director and picture categories, The Banshees of Inisherin could dominate the 95th Academy Awards, but amazingly Irish interest isn't confined to one film.

Colm Bairéad's An Cailín Ciún (The Quiet Girl) is the first Irish language film to be nominated in the best international feature film category. And the plaudits aren't confined to south of the border with the north seeing a nomination for An Irish Goodbye in the live action short film category.

The story of the reunion of two brothers, one of whom has Down syndrome, is a firm favourite for a statuette.

While for decades, Liam Neeson and Ireland's adopted son, Daniel Day-Lewis, carried Irish pride at the Academy Awards, this year a tsunami of Irish cinematic talent is set to sweep across tinsel town.

We can but hope this recognition will lead to an upsurge in movie making this side of the Atlantic as none can now doubt Irish capabilities both behind and in front of the camera.

So, if anyone is casting a middle-aged, grey-bearded male, able to do a passable Belfast accent and play a convincing psycho, I'm both available and more importantly, very cheap.