F1: The Movie

Director: Joseph Kosinki
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem, Tobias Menzies, Kim Bodnia, Sarah Niles, Will Merrick, Joseph Balderrama, Abdul Salis, Callie Cooke, Samoson Kayo, Simon Kunz, Liz Kingsman, Shea Whigham 
Running Time: 155 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

Top Gun meets Days of Thunder in director Joseph Kosinki's F1, a high octane adrenaline rush that might be the most quintessential Brad Pitt movie the actor's starred in. You could actually even imagine producers reading the first few pages of Ehren Kruger's script and deciding no one other than him or Tom Cruise should be considered for the lead. And while the verdict's still out on whether Cruise signs on for an eventual sequel, Kosinki follows the enormous success of Top Gun: Maverick by proving he's still unmatched when it comes to helming big budget, throwback spectacles. 

The film depicts a whole process that's upended when Pitt's rebellious protagonist bursts onto the scene after a partially self-imposed exile from racing. Returning to find the game has changed, this makes little difference to someone not exactly known for following rules to begin with. And now called upon to save a team that could be beyond helping, it's as much a last shot for him as them, even if the aging driver would never publicly admit it's his last chance at achieving a derailed dream. But he'll need to get out of his own way first, somehow co-existing with others to achieve victory.  

Having spent the past thirty 30 years traveling the globe as a racer-for-hire after his career ending crash at the 1993 Spanish Grand Prix, former Formula One prodigy Sonny Hayes (Pitt) is approached by past teammate Rubén Cervantes (Javier Bardem) with an offer. As owner of the struggling APXGP F1 squad, he asks Sonny to join as their second driver, hoping a Grand Prix win will prevent investors from selling the team. Itching to prove he's the best after years of mistakes and squandered opportunities, he agrees, but soon clashes with flashy, hotshot rookie driver Joshua Pearce (Damson Idris) and the team's no-nonsense technical director Kate McKenna (Kerry Condon).

While Joshua takes an instant dislike to Sonny and is even fielding offers from other teams, the latter questions Kate's methods, pestering her to upgrade their cars to meet his specifications. But as Sonny's recklesssness earns them increased scrutiny, he and Joshua's differing philosophies spark a bitter rivalry that spills onto the track, threatening any chance the team might have to turn things around.

Hints are dropped as to why Sonny's had such a chip on his shoulder following that career ending crash, along with some brief but extremely effective video footage of a de-aged Pitt at his character's driving peak decades earlier. But the film mainly relies on the actor's performance to tell this story, especially when Rubén approaches his friend with the offer he knows he won't refuse, if only because of Sonny's ego and need to prove he's still the best. 

Sonny may play it cool but his arrival is met with a mixture of skepticism and frustration, particularly from Joshua, who's immediately insulted by the idea this washed up "old man" would attempt to overshadow him. And while Kate's equally put off by his behavior, it's intriguing to watch all this hostility feed into the spectacularly shot racing sequences, which are only enhanced by Claudio Miranda's cinematography and a soaring Hans Zimmer score that recalls his earlier work on Days of Thunder and Rush. 

On the track, Sonny's a danger, unafraid of sacrificing the safety of his teammates, but he's also a frustratingly talented and disciplined driver who's first to arrive and last to leave each day. And for all the justifiable criticisms Joshua has of him, he's yet to reach his own potential either, frequently more concerned with endorsements, social media and showboating at press conferences. That is until until midway through the film when a major event occurs, taking their feud to a different place where both must begrudgingly acknowledge they have more to learn from the other than they thought. 

Idris is so good as the young, arrogant upstart, it's easy to be fooled into thinking it's really his story while Condon's Kerry is well written and performed enough for her inevitable romance with Sonny to strike just the right chord, hardly feeling as forced as it could have. Bardem's role is smaller, but he's great in it, his rapport with Pitt providing valuable context to Sonny's past and the backdoor machinations surrounding the team's ownership. All these near disasters for APX come to a head in a thrillingly staged Grand Prix race, and though the narrative starts running low on gas before the final lap, the dazzling visuals and editing hold your attention. 

F1 makes up for any lack of surprises with technical excellence and a magnetic performance from Pitt in the type of role you'd envision McQueen, Newman or Redford playing in their primes. Despite considerable contributions from a strong supporting cast, the spotlight remains on his selfish, free-spirited disrupter, helping to elevate an already compulsively watchable sports drama. Filled with moments that tease the possibility this story could go deeper or tack on unexpected twists, Kosinki mostly stays the course, giving us a smart, exhilarating piece of popcorn entertainment that shouldn't be taken for granted.                 

The Banshees of Inisherin

Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan, Gary Lydon, Pat Shortt, Sheila Flitton, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Jon Kenny
Running Time: 114 min.
Rating: R 

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)

Put simply, Martin McDonagh's The Banshees of Inisherin charts the sudden disintegration of an adult male friendship. It's a fairly straightforward premise, if not for the fact that this topic is rarely explored on film to the extent it is here. Initially resembling what could be mistaken as a comedic feud between lifelong buddies, it takes a turn into darker territory, as its era and fictional remote island setting become a key component in understanding where they're each coming from. You feel for the protagonist, a kind, likably dim man who wakes up one morning to discover his world's been turned upside down. But the same could also be said for his new enemy, who's struggling with some kind of existential crisis. What exactly this crisis entails hardly matters since the relentless pursuit of an answer only causes more trouble and hurt than either can handle.

There's something so bracingly honest and relatable about how McDonagh presents this, fully acknowledging the isle's inhabitants lead what appear to be dull lives, characterized by routines that do provide a certain amount of joy and relief in the face of a war reaching its end. For one of them, the shattering of their routine will prove catastrophic, while another searches for meaning that may not exist. It's anyone's right to end a friendship and certainly frustrating when the rejected party won't take a hint, but what eventually happens in the film suggests far deeper issues are at play. But it isn't until one of them goes off the deep end that you start considering what this was really all about.

It's 1921 with the Irish Civil War nearing its close when on the isle of Inisherin the amiable Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell) plans to meet his best friend and drinking buddy Colm Doherty (Gleeson) at the pub, as he does each day at 2 pm. But after being stood up and Pádraic discovers him sitting alone in his cottage, Colm tells Pádraic he's sick of him, wishing to instead spend his remaining days composing and playing music rather than listen to his pal's incessant chatter and complaining. 

Despite Colm's firm insistence they go their separate ways, a disbelieving Pádraic grows increasingly agitated by his friend's devastating rejection. Even as Pádraic's sister Siobhán (Kerry Condon) and troubled local boy Dominic (Barry Keoghan) try to smooth things over, the feud escalates to alarming levels, with Colm taking drastic steps to ensure his ex-friend stays away. And when that doesn't work, the situation gets uglier and more personal, resulting in life altering consequences for all involved.

McDonagh's script is rich enough in detail and the performances so lived in that it's easy to imagine how things were between the former friends before this started. We also know as little about Colm's state of mind as Pádraic does. To some extent, Colm isn't completely sure either, only expressing frustration that his life's whittling away while he drinks at the pub and listens to his friend babble on about nothing. 

If Colm's solution is to cut Pádraic out so he can focus on his music, neither go as planned due to him underestimating his friend's emotional pain. You can see both sides, as Colm takes a variety of approaches to let this man down easy and spare his feelings after ignoring him fails. Still, Pádraic refuses to get the message, doubling down in his efforts to somehow change Colm's mind. One's unshakably stubborn while the other's sort of endearingly annoying, even as neither can quite come to terms with their own shortcomings, preferring to deflect blame rather than take a look in the mirror.

Gleeson plays Colm with solemn, matter-of-fact directness while Farrell's innocently naive loyalty and confusion wins you over in spite of the character's obvious faults. Condon does sublime work as Siobhán, who clearly loves her brother, but knows he won't give in, trying anything to keep the peace before both men pass the point of no return. The only stabilizing force left in Pádraic's life aside from his donkey Jenny, she's about to reach the end of her rope. As the wacky, troubled town youth Dominic, Keoghan provides much of the film's comic relief opposite Farrell, until the scene-stealing performance reveals the character as someone more troubled than his goofy prankster facade lets on.

McDonagh balances a lot, managing to invoke a lot of laughs from a screenplay drenched in tragedy, as the two main characters discover much of what happened didn't need to. Farrell and Gleeson (re-teaming for the first time since the director's 2008 debut feature In Bruges) are seamless together, each giving career high performances as friends with so little experience being mean that their attempts result in disaster.

There comes a point when Colm takes a series of actions that aren't just crazy and selfish, but fly in the face of what he claims to be doing this for. It's not about Pádraic so much as what his presence and carefree attitude represents for man who feels trapped, his dreams and goals slipping away by the day. But rather than provide relief, cutting ties with his best friend creates new problems that bring him no closer to solving the existing one. 

It's a testament to Farrell and Gleeson that you still sense a small amount of affection and camaraderie left between them even after the worst has seemingly occurred. There's even a tinge of regret in a last act that's surprisingly difficult to watch, as they clumsily lose control of their worst impulses. Where this goes after the credits roll is anyone's guess, but if the fitting final scene implies some kind of impasse has been reached, it's a tiny one, arriving entirely too late. As it turns out, these former friends were far more skilled at destroying themselves than each other.