Follow up ‘Banshees of Inisherin’ with Farrell’s best performances
The Banshees of Inisherin,” written and directed by Martin McDonagh and streaming on HBO Max, is a strange, dark and wonderful fable of friendship lost and found on a small (fictional) Irish island, set in the 1920s. The critically acclaimed film is also a front-runner for the Academy Awards.
It caps off a banner year for Colin Farrell, who starred in four high-profile films in 2022, including “Banshees of Inisherin.”
In March, he started off co-starring as the Penguin opposite Robert Pattinson in Matt Reeves’ “The Batman” (stream it on HBO Max), though you’d be forgiven for not realizing it was Farrell under all the makeup prosthetics. The same week, the distinctly different “After Yang” with Farrell premiered, a philosophical lightly sci-fi rumination on family, loss and artificial intelligence written and directed by Kogonada (stream it on Showtime). In July, Farrell was seen co-starring in
Ron Howard’s “Thirteen Lives,” about the daring underwater rescue of the Thai soccer team who became stranded in a remote cave (stream it on Amazon Prime Video).
While 2022 was 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 is pursuing now.
The high-profile 2002 Steven Spielberg sci-fi film “Minority Report” put Farrell opposite Tom Cruise, and he delivered across from the massive movie star (rent it on all digital platforms). Farrell also worked with Joel Schumacher that same year on the taut, highconcept thriller “Phone Booth” (rent it 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 2006 crime film “Miami Vice,” with Jamie Foxx as Ricardo Tubbs (stream it on HBO Max). Tune into the podcast “Miami Nice” to hear critics and fans unpack this misunderstood masterpiece.
Farrell’s collaboration with “Banshees of Inisherin” auteur McDonagh started in 2008 with the black crime comedy “In Bruges,” with his “Banshees of Inisherin” co-star Brendan Gleeson (rent it on all platforms), and continued with 2012’s “Seven Psychopaths” (stream it on Paramount+ or rent elsewhere).
Farrell has also had fruitful collaborations with Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos, starring in the 2015 dystopian drama “The Lobster” (stream it on Showtime or Tubi or rent elsewhere) and the disturbing family drama “The Killing of a Sacred Deer” in 2017 (stream it on Showtime or Kanopy or rent elsewhere).
In addition, Farrell offered standout performances in the ensembles of Steve McQueen’s 2018 crime thriller “Widows” (stream it on Tubi or rent elsewhere) and in Sofia Coppola’s Civil War-era drama “The Beguiled” (stream it on Netflix).
These are just a handful of Farrell’s best performances and films. While he has many gems among the rest of his filmography, these are required viewing for any Farrell fan.