THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN

Set against a dramatic Irish coastline in a place that time forgot, this sly and viciously eccentric parable follows two lifelong friends who part ways when one abruptly ends their relationship. Writer/director Martin McDonagh, a Beckett for our bleak times, builds a gorgeous tableau on which he quietly dissects toxic masculinity and human despair. The Irish Civil War may wage within earshot on the mainland but the petty and parochial problems these islanders create for themselves are the biggest threats to their happiness. Gleeson, an accomplished fiddler, wrote and performs the film's original title ballad.