In 1973 two Chile based C.I.A. agents, Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich) and Lee Chseterfield (Sam Rockwell) travel to Easter Island on the cusp of the Chilian coup that will see the military overthrow of the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende. The two men have worked as a team together for many years but all is not well, Chris is dying from terminal cancer and this trip to the island of Rapa Nui is his literal dying wish. Chris is a veteran agent having taken part in some of the most significant acts of espionage of the 20th Century, including the death of President Kennedy and the overthrow of several left wing, communist or socialist governments. He's addicted to morphine, he's lost all his filters, he's losing his memory, he's dictating his memoir into dicaphones and he's telling everyone he meets (including two young women also traveling to Easter Island, Monica and Alicia) that he's a C.I.A. agent, much to the chagrin of his partner and to his CIA bureau chief MJ (Steve Buscemi). Meanwhile, Lee is dealing with his disintegrating marriage to Marge (Parker Posey). And that's the plot in a nutshell because it really doesn't matter. What does matter is the extraordinary relationship between the two men, the beautiful dialogue and the note perfect black humour.
The script by director Martin McDonagh is a blissful delight, the man responsible for the sublime genius of Three Bill Boards Outside Ebbing, The Banshees of Inisherin and In Bruges unleashes here, perhaps his most polished work, the exceedingly funny script is pure perfection, his ear for dialogue is matchless, it's hardly surprising that he's received six Academy Award nominations. I can think of no other writer director alive who can create so brilliantly onscreen relationships between two men, usually men of violence, but somehow McDonagh manages to create worlds of true emotional depth, the humour never at the detrement of the drama. Lee and Chris are both deeply flawed men and yet there's something so human and relatable about them, their relationship is poignant and truly heartfelt giving this film a wonderful emotional core of true depth and emotion.
I loved this film deeply, it's been a long time, indeed not since 2022's The Banshees have I been moved this much. I loved the characters, I loved the deeply nuanced script and the way to confounded expectations, several times I thought I knew how this would end and each time McDonagh found a way to surprise me. This is also an extremely funny movie with the humour coming from dialogue that zings with energy, indeed from the get-go this elicits laugh after laugh, mostly driven by a dead pan John Malkovich whose comedy chops are brilliantly played, matched by Sam Rockwell, an actor of extraordinary talent who seems happy to play the straight man to Malkovich. Similarly, Buscemi gruff and cantankerous CIA bureau chief is a delight. Damn it, everyone seems to be in on the gag!
The ending left me genuinely touched and moved and I truly think I've perhaps found my film of the year.
10/10
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