January Movie Reviews Part 2 (The Banshee of Inisherin, Aftersun, Devotion)

Well, we’re 23 days into 2023 and I haven’t watched a bad movie this year! In a world of mostly subpar films, this is actually quite an accomplishment. Of course, I’ve been seeking out some of the higher-rated films of 2022 that I hadn’t gotten around to seeing, but there are plenty of acclaimed movies that are overrated, flaming hot garbage.

Two of the movies I’ll be reviewing here were pleasant surprises and were much better than I thought they’d be, while the other I found to be somewhat overrated, but still a quality film with some great performances. Read on to discover which movie is which, and also to find out what I’d rate as the first 10/10 movie I’ve seen since 2021’s Dune.

The Banshee of Inisherin (2022)

Searchlight Pictures, 109 minutes

If I were one of those types of people who filled out an Oscar pool at my office predicting which films and actors were going to take home Academy Awards, I’d bet that The Banshee of Inisherin would win Best Picture for 2022, in addition to taking home Best Supporting Actor for Brendan Gleeson.

Of course, I don’t work in an office (and no one has ever asked me to fill out an office Oscar pool, even when I did for a very brief period, but I have still heard that they’re a real thing). Basically though, for the 2022 Oscars, I think the Academy will choose between this movie and Everything Everywhere All at Once, decide which they like better, and then give that movie the majority of the major awards. I hope they pick The Banshee of Inisherin, since even though I think it is overrated, it’s still far superior to Everything Everywhere All at Once.

As far as the story of Martin McDonagh’s The Banshee of Inisherin goes, we follow two lifelong friends who find themselves in a conflict when one of the two, Gleeson’s character, Colm, decides that he no longer wants to be friends with Pádraic, played expertly by Colin Farrell. Things escalate between the two men as Pádraic cannot accept Colm no longer wants to be friends with him.

The Banshees of Inisherin is a gorgeous movie visually, and the acting is great. It’s also noteworthy that the movie is really an allegory, and there’s a deeper meaning McDonagh wants viewers to take away from the tale. This idea of people being symbolic of a bigger idea is sometimes to a fault, as the characters don’t really act how normal people would in the same circumstances. This, coupled with the fact that I found the movie was somewhat slow in parts, would have me place this in the “very good, but not great” category of films.

Grade: 7.5/10

Aftersun (2022)

A24, 101 minutes

Aftersun is the first feature-length film written and directed by Charlotte Wells, and it’s my favorite movie I’ve seen in the past year plus. At first glance, the story seems simple. Most of the movie is scenes at a vacation resort twenty years ago, as Sophie, now an adult, thinks back to when she was 11 years old on a summer holiday with her father, Calum, who at the time was about to have his 31st birthday.

Aftersun is a beautiful and emotional exploration of how we, as people, attempt to reconcile how we felt at a certain time in our lives with what was really going on in the minds of others. It’s hard for me to discuss in more detail what the film is about without giving more away, and I don’t want to do that here, but I think Aftersun is a fantastic all-around movie, with everything from its direction in the way certain scenes are shot, to the way scenes in the past are filmed in a way that feels almost dreamlike, to the choice of music.

It would also be unfair of me not to mention the performances of the two leads, Frankie Corio, as 11-year-old Sophie, and Paul Mescal, as Calum. The acting by the pair is so masterful that it feels as though you’re watching a real father-daughter relationship, which adds greatly to the emotional weight of the film.

Still, this isn’t a movie for everyone. Aftersun is definitely a “thinking movie,” and it’s basically the opposite of the kinds of movies that find financial success nowadays. It’s also a film that would benefit from multiple viewings. For me though, this is the type of emotional film that I truly appreciate, as movies are so infrequently as finely crafted and achieving of overall greatness as Aftersun is. 

Grade: 10/10

Devotion (2022)

Columbia Pictures, 129 minutes

I almost skipped Devotion entirely, despite its solid reviews. I wasn’t a huge fan of last year’s Top Gun: Maverick, and I didn’t feel too motivated to watch another action film about fighter jets. The promotional image of Devotion, coupled with it’s bland title, further led me to believe that this would be a cliché, run-of-the-mill, PG-13 action movie. Fortunately for me, I did end up watching Devotion, and I’m more than willing to admit that I was wrong.

Devotion tells the true story of two top-level naval pilots as the United States enters the Korean War. It’s not at all goofy or over the top like Top Gun. This is a well-done historical action-drama.

Sure, there are the requisite action scenes with the jets, which are well done, but the meat of this story is the relationship between Jesse Brown, played by Jonathan Majors, and his wingman, Tom Hunder, played by Glen Powell (who after being in this and Top Gun will no doubt be typecast as a fighter pilot going forward). Brown has to battle racism as the first black aviator to complete the navy’s training program and become a pilot. There are also some emotional scenes between him and his wife, Daisy Brown, played by Christina Jackson. The entire cast has really good chemistry.

I didn’t know the story of Jesse Brown before watching this film, but it’s definitely a story worth telling. Devotion is one of the better historical dramas of the past few years.

Grade: 8.5/10