In my humble opinion...

 I was coming out of town* the other evening and I decided to go to the cinema.

* Mullingar, not Dublin!

I wanted to go to see The Banshees of Inisherin. I had heard mixed reports about it, mainly Marmite ones.

You either love it or hate it.

I have seen Martin Mc Donagh's work before and yes, it is not everyone's cup of tea. We went to the Gaeity theatre to see The Lieutenant of Inishmore a few years ago, the lead being played by a new and upcoming young actor called Paul Mescal, and I loved it. Yes there was a part where there were various body parts shrewn around the stage after a visit by the IRA. There was a group of American tourists in front of us and another party of English tourists beside us. The writing was so clever and comical  that it was a very funny scene but I was stifling in the laughter because it was a case of

I really shouldn't be laughing at this........but it is funny!

The second reason I wanted to see it was because of Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. I think that their relationship in In Bruges is still the most authentic and moving relationship in cinematic history ( well, at least of all the films I've seen!!!) So I wanted to see if they could replicate it.

And boy, did they! It really got across the point that the breakup of a platonic friendship can be every bit as heart-breaking as a romantic one, sometimes even more so.

I am on the team of I LOVED IT! The relationship between the two characters, the claustrophobic island community, and the wild and rugged landscape all came together to create a dramatic masterpiece. I am well aware that other people will have hated it. But that's the beauty of drama. There is no such thing as a wrong reaction to it, every reaction is correct and valid for each person.

I think one of the reasons I got so caught up in the sense of loneliness and isolation of their lives was because I was the only person in the cinema! 

Experiencing the panoramic views of the cliffs, sea and rugged landscape made me feel like I was living on the feckin' island myself!

Well I suppose that one of the quirks of going to the cinema at 4.30 on a Tuesday afternoon!