Men’s feelings are at the center of Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin, and there are small bursts of color all throughout his lauded film. The harsh winds make you instinctively reach for your closest knitwear, and wool pieces are layered in both a practical and necessary way. Costume designer Eimer Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh cleverly recreated historical silhouettes by adding color to break up the landscape and give the clothes personality.
In their first exchange together, Colin Farrell’s Pádraic is wearing a red shirt under his dark coat, and Brendan Gleeson’s Colm’s shirt has blue sleeves. Their clothes never share the same color palette, almost as if their clothes are sparring as well. Neither man is wearing as many bright colors as Kerry Condon’s Siobhán, but Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh never pulls us out of the story with, say, Siobhán’s green-ish coat (everyone wants that piece) or the muted maroon-shaded dresses she wears to town. Could the brightness of Siobhán’s clothes be indicating that she longs to leave Inisherin?
Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh and I pout over the character of Dominic, and she illuminated me about some details of his worn, slightly tattered outfits. Of the core ensemble of the film, Dominic probably cares the least about the clothes on his body. Mrs. McCormick, on the other hand, probably knows the impact her silhouette has on the other residents of the island. Her foreboding presence is reinforced by the mysterious shape her shawl draws over her entire body. You don’t want her to show up when you are having a vulnerable moment.
Much like McDonahgh’s screenplay, Ní Mhaoldomhnaigh gives these characters deserved depth and some humor to break the mood. It’s a perfect, subtle showcase for how costuming can convey mood and theme.
The Banshees of Inisherin is streaming now on HBO Max.
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