Martin McDonagh Heads to Zurich With a Career Honor and a New Dark Comedy

Wild Horse Nine is McDonagh’s upcoming black comedy, Deadline reported. It stars John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits and Parker Posey, with Mariana di Girolamo and Ailín Salas also named in the film’s story description.

The film is set shortly before the 1973 Chilean coup, according to Deadline and Variety. Malkovich and Rockwell play CIA agents Chris and Lee, who leave Santiago for Easter Island. Buscemi plays MJ, their boss and bureau chief.

The plot description, as reported by Deadline and Variety, puts Chris and Lee among the island’s statues while the longtime partners deal with their dark pasts and present conspiracies. Chris also forms a bond with two rebellious students, played by di Girolamo and Salas, and that connection threatens to push the trip off course.

That premise sounds very much like McDonagh territory: men with official power, moral rot in the luggage, a remote setting, and the promise that an absurd turn will not be used to soften the nastier facts. The sources do not say how the film handles Chilean history, CIA presence or Easter Island beyond that synopsis, so the piece does not know more than that yet.

Photos: Colleen Sturtevant · CC BY 4.0 · source; Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 2.5 ar · source

The Cast Has a Familiar McDonagh Charge

Sam Rockwell’s presence will matter to McDonagh watchers. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri won acting Oscars for Frances McDormand and Rockwell. Rockwell now returns in a McDonagh film as one half of the CIA-agent pair at the center of Wild Horse Nine.

Malkovich opposite him is a nasty little promise on paper. The sources only identify him as Chris, one of the agents, but that pairing suggests a film built on pressure between talkers: clipped menace, comic timing, and the kind of conversational violence McDonagh has often trusted more than action.

Buscemi as the bureau chief is another strong piece of casting. Deadline and Variety both name him as MJ, stationed with Chris and Lee in Santiago before the Easter Island trip. Tom Waits and Parker Posey are also in the film, though the supplied reports do not give their roles.

That limit matters. It would be easy to start guessing how Waits or Posey fit into this world, because each brings a whole weather system into a movie by walking into the frame. The reports do not say, so for now their names are part of the charge around the film, not evidence of what the film is doing.

Photos: Harald Krichel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source; PhilipRomanoPhoto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Why McDonagh Is Being Honored Now

McDonagh first gained attention behind the camera with Six Shooter, the Academy Award-winning short, Deadline reported. He then wrote and directed In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin.

Variety reported that McDonagh received Academy Award nominations for best picture for Three Billboards and The Banshees of Inisherin, best director for The Banshees, and best original screenplay for In Bruges, Three Billboards and The Banshees. The Hollywood Reporter added that Three Billboards received seven Oscar nominations and The Banshees received nine.

The Hollywood Reporter also noted McDonagh’s stage work, including The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Pillowman and Hangmen, and reported that his plays have been staged in the West End and on Broadway and performed in more than 40 countries in more than 30 languages.

This is not McDonagh’s first Zurich moment. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Three Billboards and The Banshees both had gala screenings at the festival. Variety also reported that McDonagh will take part in a masterclass, offering insight into his creative process.

The 22nd Zurich Film Festival runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. By then, Wild Horse Nine will no longer be only a title and a cast list; it will have met Venice, and McDonagh will arrive in Zurich with another set of bruised men talking themselves toward trouble.

• The Banshees of Inisherin2022 · Martin McDonagh
• Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri2017 · Martin McDonagh
• In Bruges2008 · Martin McDonagh
• Seven Psychopaths2012 · Martin McDonagh