A new Martin McDonagh movie is always something to relish – sure to be packed with razor-sharp dialogue, caustic characters, and a melancholy undertone that gets under your skin. And now, after the hit of The Banshees Of Inisherin, the filmmaker is back with Wild Horse Nine. Re-teaming with old favourites (hello, Three Billboards’ Sam Rockwell!) and welcoming new faces into the McDonagh fray (hello, John Malkovich!) it sends two bickering CIA operatives on a mission in the 1970s, with explosive results.
As McDonagh tells Empire, the film has something to say about how America conducted itself in the ‘60s and ‘70s. “It’s definitely my most political thing,” he explains. “I haven’t expressed a political opinion, really, in my films, and this one’s pretty out there.” As Malkovich’s veteran CIA officer Chris and Rockwell’s younger Lee venture to the Chilean territory of Rapa Nui, aka Easter Island (of stone heads fame), it’s clear they’re up to some shady business. “I wanted to analyse the history of the CIA, what they’ve done in the world since the Second World War,” McDonagh says.
It’s a set-up that allows for the classic character dynamic you expect from the man behind In Bruges and Banshees. During the course of Wild Horse Nine, we’ll see “a character starting, for the first time, to be questioning or regretful, or guilty about it…” explains McDonagh. “That was the gist of what I wanted to talk about. Those covert ops were not necessarily very secretive. I wanted to speak on that, with a character who’s becoming more open and honest as the film goes on. And I think the film is open and honest in what it’s saying about America at that time.” Get ready for the Martin McDonagh you know, and the one you don’t.
Read Empire’s full Wild Horse Nine story in the Digger issue, on sale Thursday August 17. Pre-order a copy online here. Wild Horse Nine comes to UK cinemas from November 6.
