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R.                       114 min

Even with all the megaplex theaters in Northeast Ohio it's sometimes hard to find some of the more artsy or independent films. Thankfully there's Cleveland Cinemas among a few others. I was born on Thanksgiving Day and traditionally on the holiday Thursday I am treated to a movie and dinner. This year I selected THE BANSHEE OF INISHERIN a film that's in everybody's top three predictions for Best Picture, at the Capitol Theater located in the Gordon Arts District of Cleveland's West Side Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.

I highly recommend that you stop in to this beautiful and historic venue and say hi to Ariel and the rest of the staff if you are looking for a cool place to see a hard-to-find film.

Not only the theater but the movie is definitely a one-of-a-kind experience. I'm thinking that this is one of those love it or hate it situations; as for myself I loved it but I'm not exactly sure why.

Among the reasons films wind up nominated for Best Picture is something completely out of the ordinary and rarely seen before, BANSHEE fits that category. Sometimes unique winds up boring or ridiculous and sometimes it's fascinating; this is one of those times. Padraic and Colm (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) live in a village on one of Ireland's remote Islands and have been friends as long as they can remember. Until, that is, Colm decides he no longer ever wants to speak to Padraic again. No reason, no explanation given; just some vague idea that whatever time we have left shouldn't be wasted in idle and meaningless conversation and that time should be spent pursuing interests that will last for years, such as art music or philosophy. I suppose that idea might have some odd logic but given the circumstances it's hard to wrap your head around. Still has Padraic’s efforts to get to the bottom of it as well as Colm’s resolution turns into a feud the tensions get severe making the situation even worse. I can't in good conscience give my typical synopsis of the plot because it is so very odd that watching it unfold is what made the film fascinating for me. No doubt the basic setup isn't much of a selling card for BANSHEE but I urge you to seek the film out and give it a try with an open mind. There are no action scenes, no real violence no fireworks but I'm guessing most will be intrigued and hopefully understand why something like this could have a shot at a best picture nomination. If it snags a nomination, which I don't doubt that it will, it will certainly wind up on more screens but I think movie fans would at least enjoy a trip to the Capitol Theater

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