Since Martin McDonagh’s black comedy In Bruges released 15 years ago, the director still seems hung up on the idea of exploring morality through film, and has done so again with his most recent film, The Banshees of Inisherin.
It has been 15 years since two Irish hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), found themselves stuck in Bruges, with the only question on their minds being their own morality. As the Oscars race hots up, director Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin reunites Farrell and Gleeson for one purpose: to see if that question of morality still matters today.
In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin use similar settings to tell different tales that contain the potential—or lack thereof—for morally murky characters to be redeemed. In Bruges isolates its characters in the Belgian city. As they begin to take in its gothic architecture and religious artworks, the sense of claustrophobia builds, and along with it this sense that Ray will have no choice but to be confronted by his own sins. The Banshees of Inisherin takes a similarly isolating setting in the island of Inisherin itself, but allows its characters more room to roam, relaxing the sense of isolation and thereby giving its characters the freedom to enact their own form of moral consequence. As the inhabitants stare out to the mainland and see the ongoing war happening there, it provides this sense of escape from Inisherin that gives its characters seemingly more urge to confront one another. This leads to a harsher form of consequence for its characters. In Bruges lacks this possibility for escape, and as a result, the characters have to come to their own moral awakenings in a more natural way.
The natural progression of the stories is arguably the biggest difference here—in both cases as a result of its secondary characters. These supporting characters that populate In Bruges are less intrusive on Ray and Ken, whereas those of The Banshees of Inisherin disrupt Pádraic’s (Farrell) life in a way that obstructs his moral redemption arc. Dominic (Barry Keoghan), the troubled young man of the island, is treated as a laughing stock and as a distraction to Pádraic. However, it is during Pádraic’s increasingly immoral attempts to win back the favour of Colm (Gleeson) that Dominic is killed off, with an implied suicide.
The characters of In Bruges elevate Ray to find redemption, whereas the characters of The Banshees of Inisherin expose the immorality of the island, which only serves to push Pádraic further into his downfall. He is unable to accept that he is part of the problem. The film doesn’t provide much reason for the events unfolding, and the harder Pádraic looks for them the worse he behaves. The darkly comedic tone of The Banshees of Inisherin feels meaner than In Bruges, and places emphasis on just how vital that spark of hope is in the quest for moral redemption.
In Bruges is at its most potent when its message of morality is entangled with its pitch-perfect black humour. McDonagh seeks to undercut every genuine sense of Ray’s path to redemption that Ken is trying to give him. The childish way that Ray looks at his time in Bruges means that Ken has to step up and almost take charge of the spiritual journey towards accepting our need for morality. Ken is the one who defends Ray from their employer, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), who wants Ray dead for his mistake. Ken says that Ray is capable of redeeming himself. As he argues with Harry for the need to protect Ray from the consequences of his actions, McDonagh shows us that redemption is a necessity, even if it has to be championed by someone else. In Bruges shows us that morals cannot govern consequences and that they can only be subjective.
The Banshees of Inisherin takes this subjective sentiment and removes any potential for its characters to find that same forgiving hope that they too might be redeemed. The film has a similar comedic tone and meandering writing style, but the lack of that moral barrier that Ken provides to Ray is obvious. Pádraic is not the loudmouth that Ray is, but in many ways is still a lost soul that is unsure of his place in the world. Ray values Ken because Ken told him that his place in the world does not really matter; as long as the possibility for redemption is there, you have to take it. The Banshees of Inisherin does not have a Ken in any of its supporting cast, with the closest figure to him in Pádraic’s life being his sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon).
Siobhán is unable to be a moral champion for her brother because her version of redemption is different. She accepts her lot in life and her place on the island, and even though she has greater ambitions and eventually leaves Inisherin, she cannot take Pádraic with her because he does not want to go. Without that presence in his life, Pádraic is lost and not guided to moral redemption. Instead, he takes matters into his own hands and ends up committing worse acts than Colm ever did. This lack of reconciliation tells us that poor moral decisions lead to poor outcomes. Pádraic is unable to get his friend back, and even worse, loses sight of his one redeeming feature: his good nature all together.
In Bruges tells us that morals cannot go hand in hand with consequences. The Banshees of Inisherin stresses the opposite. It shows that immoral choices lead to the saddest outcomes. The characters of these two films act in different ways. In Bruges’ characters provide levity for Ray, an encouraging light that allows him to find a redemption of sorts on his own. The Banshees of Inisherin’s characters are, for the most part, an oppressive force that weigh down on Pádraic until he goes too far the other way, dooming himself in the process.
It is this guiding light that is the most important aspect of morality that McDonagh is stressing across these two films. Morality needs a beacon to survive; it needs to exist in someone in order for there to be any hope that it may end up existing in someone else too. If In Bruges tells us that morality and consequence do not correlate, and The Banshees of Inisherin tells us the opposite, commonality can be found in both film’s lack of a defender of morality, and the direct result of their presence. The Banshees of Inisherin lacks someone to assert the subjective nature of its power, and so the morality of its consequences remains rigid.
As we look back on In Bruges in 2023, we should see more than a black comedy about two Irish hitmen. We should see a story about morality, and the need to separate it from everything else. In this imperfect comedy filled with dark humour-style tragedies, McDonagh tell us that we have to protect morality. With The Banshees of Inisherin, McDonagh shows that if we fail to do this, then—much like Pádraic and Colm—we are likely to suffer the consequences.
Words by James Evenden
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