Late to Martin McDonagh’s new film “New wild horse” Chris, John Malkovich’s CIA agent, describes an idea for a western told from the horse’s point of view. It would be a “pessimistic western,” he tells his partner Lee (Sam Rockwell), who laughs: “I don’t see that western. »
This is McDonagh’s embarrassed nod to the fact that he’s finishing his own pessimistic western, a darkly comic and sad story of regret and atonement at the end of a life of violence. After a career dedicated to murder and regime overthrow for the U.S. government, Chris watches his own death for a decidedly less cinematic reason – cancer – and his thoughts become scattered. For Lee, as he listened to Chris’ incessant chatter, it became difficult to distinguish between nonsense and truth.
The two men are on a trip to Easter Island. It is 1973, they are stationed in Santiago, Chile, and know the dark future that awaits their adopted country: on September 11, General Augusto Pinochet will lead a violent military coup, seizing power and killing the democratically elected president, Salvador Allende. It’s business as usual for Lee and Chris, but Chris has been a little quiet lately.
“Enjoy him while you can,” Chris tells two young Allende fans, Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) and Alicia (Ailín Salas), at the airport. He also says that they are indeed in the CIA and Chile to destabilize the government, which Lee tries to pass off as a joke. But, for now, they’re leaving see “big heads”.
There’s something sinister threatening this holiday, though, and it’s not just about the coming coup. One way or another, Chris probably won’t make it off Easter Island alive. Their boss, MJ (a grumpy and amusing Steve Buscemi), knows about Chris’ plan to write a memoir and has tasked Lee with finding out what’s in it. They are particularly concerned about any information regarding a certain presidential assassination in Dallas in 1963. And shortly after getting off the plane, MJ already knows about the airport gaffe; someone looks at Lee, looks at Chris and reports.
This is familiar territory for McDonagh, who continues to be drawn to the realm of male friendships and heightened storylines in picturesque locations, from “In Bruges” through “The Banshees of Inisherin. » Lee and Chris’s conversations consist mostly of bickering, but the layers of this strange coupling begin to peel away and reveal something substantial and deep.
McDonagh’s writing is, as always, acerbic and archaic. These are not necessarily men you would want to be friends with. They are hostile and rude to almost everyone around them, especially other tourists who are quick to correct them on the proper names of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) and big heads (moai). They are the quintessential ugly Americans, mocking the use of words like “native,” which sounds more like McDonagh cynically attacking modern liberal usage than a sincere effort to construct good dialogue.
But it’s also a recurring trap for McDonagh (remember the “Three billboards” backlash?), which has more effective and memorable scenes up its sleeve, like the one in which Chris explains the correlation between good cheese and “gay countries.” It also breaks with songs and landscapes. The needle drops can be a little on the nose at times, from Chris’ penchant for “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” to “Both Sides Now.” But that doesn’t mean they aren’t equally considered and additive.
In many ways, it’s the actors who elevate even the bullshit to something profound and compelling. Few filmmakers let Rockwell shine like McDonagh. Lee bears more than the weight of his friend’s impending loss, recognizing his own complicity in a system that is corrupt and devoid of decency toward anyone, including his family. Parker Posey puts a very funny spin on the woman on the phone trope: her Marge is often drunk, a serial cheater, and quick to insults.
Malkovich, meanwhile, is doing something that feels fundamentally new. He plays Chris as if he’s in a daydream, floating in a disorienting void between life and death, speaking about moths, horses and Catholicism. Some of it is morphine, sure, but some of it is sober thinking. And when things start to get too poetic or precious, there’s always an F-bomb waiting in the wings.
There is little salvation to be found for Chris and Lee on Easter Island. State-sanctioned violence has infected everything and there is no way to reverse the situation. And yet, even in a world drowning in cynicism and ugliness, McDonagh finds beauty and grace in youth and nature.
“Wild Horse Nine” may not stray too far from the formula, but at least it’s McDonagh’s own formula. He’s pretty good at replaying hits.
“Wild Horse Nine,” a Searchlight Pictures release in theaters Friday, is rated R by the Motion Picture Association for “sexual references, pervasive language, drug use and strong violence.” Duration: 118 minutes. Three stars out of four.
Gn entert
