On Tuesday, the critically acclaimed film “The Banshees of Inisherin,” written and directed by Martin McDonagh, made its streaming debut on HBO Max. Having picked up a host of critics’ groups awards in the past month, as well as eight Golden Globe nominations this week, this strange, dark and wonderful fable of friendship lost and found on a small (fictional) Irish island, set in the 1920s, is now one of the front-runners for the Academy Awards.
It’s also positioned star Colin Farrell as a shoo-in for one of the Best Actor Oscar nominations, which would be the first for the actor. It caps off a banner year for Farrell, who has starred in four high-profile films this year, including "Banshees."
He started it off co-starring as the Penguin opposite Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman,” streaming on HBO Max, though you’d be forgiven for not realizing it was him under all the makeup prosthetics. The same week, the distinctly different “After Yang” premiered, a philosophical lightly sci-fi rumination on family, loss and artificial intelligence, written and directed by Kogonada. That film is now streaming on Showtime. He also co-stars in Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives,” about the daring underwater rescue of the Thai soccer team who became stranded in a remote cave. Stream that now on Prime Video.
But while 2022 has been a great year for Farrell, the Irish actor has always been great, finding his footing from hot new star in the early 2000s to the more fascinating character work that he’s pursuing now.
The high-profile 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film “Minority Report” put Farrell opposite Tom Cruise early on in his star trajectory, and he delivered across from the massive movie star. Rent it on all digital platforms. He also worked with Joel Schumacher on the taut, high-concept thriller “Phone Booth” (for rent on all platforms). But the early aughts Farrell role that has been most embraced years later was his turn as the soulful, somber Sonny Crockett in Michael Mann’s lyrical, existential crime film “Miami Vice,” with Jamie Foxx as his Ricardo Tubbs. Stream it on HBO Max and tune into the podcast “Miami Nice” to hear critics and fans unpack this misunderstood masterpiece.
Farrell’s collaboration with "Banshees" auteur McDonagh started in 2008 with the black crime comedy “In Bruges,” with his "Banshees" co-star, Irish actor Brendan Gleeson (rent it on all platforms), and continued with 2012’s “Seven Psychopaths” (on Paramount+ or rent elsewhere).
He’s also had fruitful collaborations with Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, starring in the 2015 dystopian drama “The Lobster” (streaming on Showtime, Tubi or available to rent) and the disturbing family drama “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” in 2017 (streaming on Showtime, Kanopy or to rent).
Farrell also offered standout performances in the ensembles of Steve McQueen’s 2018 crime thriller “Widows” (streaming on Tubi or available to rent) and in Sofia Coppola’s Civil War-era drama “The Beguiled,” streaming on Netflix.
These are just a handful of Farrell’s best performances and films, and he has many gems among the rest of his filmography, but these are required viewing for any Farrell fans.
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