Wild Horse Nine

★★★★★

starring: john malkovich, sam rockwell, steve Buscemi, and m ariana di Girolamo

REVIEWER: lyall carter

CIA agents Chris and Lee face a trust-testing mission from Santiago to Easter Island during 1973 in Chile.

I've been a huge admirer of Martin McDonagh's work ever since In Bruges. There is something quite remarkable about his ability to balance extraordinarily dark humour with an almost overwhelming sense of melancholy. His films are often hilarious, frequently uncomfortable, and deeply concerned with the ‘wages of sin’. His latest film, Wild Horse Nine, continues this thematic tradition, and in many ways feels like a culmination of the themes that have made his work so compelling over the years.

Set in Chile in 1973, shortly before the military coup, Wild Horse Nine follows two veteran CIA operatives, Chris (John Malkovich) and Lee (Sam Rockwell), who are dispatched by their superior, MJ (Steve Buscemi), from Santiago to the remote Easter Island, or Rapa Nui. The two men have spent years working together in the interests of American foreign policy, carrying out operations across the world that have left a considerable trail of moral compromise. As they find themselves increasingly isolated on the island, their conversations, encounters with two young Chilean women, and the growing uncertainty surrounding their assignment begin to reveal the weight of their shared history. What initially appears to be a rather peculiar assignment gradually becomes something far more personal, as both men are forced to confront their past and the prospect of what lies ahead.

What immediately distinguishes Wild Horse Nine from McDonagh's previous films is its setting. Gone are the distinctly European sensibilities of In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin. Instead, we are thrown into the political and cultural landscape of Chile, before being transported to the extraordinary isolation of Rapa Nui. Yet despite the geographical and cultural differences, the familiar beats of a McDonagh film are very much present. The absurdity, the darkness, the moral contradictions and that unmistakable sense of melancholy all find a home in this unusual setting.

The narrative itself gradually unspools as we discover more about Chris and Lee, and what they have spent consecutive years doing in the service of the CIA and American interests around the world. Much of this is revealed through Chris's wonderfully bizarre and often hilarious thought patterns. Yet as the film progresses, we begin to realise that there is something deeply troubling beneath these eccentric musings. Chris is an increasingly unwell man, and what initially appears to be little more than an entertainingly peculiar personality begins to reveal something far more heartbreaking. Through these conversations, McDonagh slowly allows us to understand the depth of his regret, the weight of his past and his growing awareness of his own mortality.

It's here that the film becomes particularly fascinating. Chris's religious beliefs are woven throughout his musings, often in the most wonderfully absurd ways one of which being whether dinosaurs go to heaven. There is something unmistakably Catholic about McDonagh's exploration of sin, guilt, judgement and the possibility of redemption. These are men who have done terrible things, and the film doesn't shy away from the moral weight of those actions. Yet beneath all the cynicism and humour is a genuine longing for forgiveness, a hope that somehow the future might hold something better than the past. It is an exploration of death, regret, faith and hope that feels remarkably consistent with McDonagh's previous work, even as he approaches those themes from an entirely different direction.

What makes McDonagh such an extraordinary filmmaker is the incredibly fine balance he strikes between humour that will have you laughing uncontrollably and themes that will sit with you for days afterwards. He has this remarkable ability to take something profoundly tragic and find humour within it, without ever diminishing its emotional significance. In fact, it's often the humour that makes the tragedy hit even harder. Wild Horse Nine is full of these moments, where an utterly ridiculous conversation suddenly gives way to something unexpectedly profound. It's a difficult balance to achieve, but McDonagh makes it feel almost effortless. The whole cast is fantastic, and Sam Rockwell does what Sam Rockwell does so well, bringing his characteristic wit, timing and humanity to Lee. He's a wonderfully solid presence throughout the film, providing the perfect counterweight to the extraordinary character at its centre.

But make no mistake, this is John Malkovich's movie, and quite possibly John Malkovich's moment. Surely this is the kind of performance that deserves an Oscar. His portrayal of Chris is nothing short of extraordinary. He is simultaneously charming and loathsome, introspective and chauvinistic, hilarious and deeply tragic. He is almost a living contradiction, a man capable of recognising the horror of his own actions while remaining frustratingly oblivious to so much of what makes him difficult to love. Oscar season should be his.

Gut splittingly hilarious and heartbreaking in equal measure, Wild Horse Nine is a meditation on life, regret, and death and everything in between with an astonishing, Oscar worthy performance from John Malcovich. One of my favorite films of the year.