“Wild Horse Nine” Review

Nobody makes movies quite like Martin McDonagh, with his unique blend of riotous black comedy, sudden violence, and soulful meditations on friendship, mortality and regret. His latest, “Wild Horse Nine,” delivers everything you could hope for from a McDonagh picture, with a moving and thrilling story as likely to make you cry as laugh out loud.

The broad plot is eerily reminiscent of McDonagh’s feature film debut, “In Bruges.” Two violent men take an idyllic vacation during which one of them struggles with an emotional and ethical dilemma after being tasked with murdering his best friend, a trusted but increasingly erratic coworker. Where “In Bruges” follows two hit men in hiding after a job gone wrong, “Wild Horse Nine” tracks two CIA operatives in 1973, taking a break from their work destabilizing democracy in Chile to enjoy some rest and relaxation on Easter Island.

While visiting the big heads of Easter Island, Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich) seems determined to enjoy his time, hoping to experience some kind of transcendence as he works on narrating his memoirs into a dictaphone. His companion, Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell), however, seems distracted even as he is committed to helping his friend have a good time. 

After Lee receives a phone call from their boss, MJ (Steve Buscemi), we learn that this vacation is supposed to be the last trip Chris ever goes on. Lee is assigned to kill his friend and secure all material related to the memoirs.

As he has demonstrated throughout his career, McDonagh is deft with his plotting. Every ten minutes or so, just when you feel you’re getting a solid grasp on all the goings on, he reveals a new detail, introduces a new player that knocks you off balance, shaming you for thinking you could predict what would happen next.

McDonagh’s penchant for strong characters and ear for witty dialogue shines through, with his characters delivering countless humorous tangents, as in one particularly memorable exchange when Chris expounds upon his believed correlations between strong democracies and good cheese production. Chris and Lee are constantly riffing with one another, even as their subject matter veers into horrific territory. These characters may be buffoons, but that doesn’t make them any less sensitive. Or dangerous.

What separates McDonagh from other dialogue-heavy filmmakers like Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie is the unabashed empathy he displays for his characters; he cares about them as human beings, in spite of or perhaps because of their glaring flaws. You can feel that McDonagh wants everybody to reach a happy ending even though their choices and careers make that impossible. He never shies away from a tragic end when it’s called for, and this makes his pictures more poignant than similar crime capers.

John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell excel in the lead roles, relishing the rapid, witty dialogue while adding depths of emotion to the quiet moments. Malkovich in particular stands out. He has always been a distinctive performer, similar to Nicolas Cage or Christopher Walken in his specific over-the-top nature. McDonagh weaponizes Malkovich’s quirkiness to elevate a character losing his grasp on reality, losing sight of his purpose in life. Malkovich’s Chris Carlisle is deeply idiosyncratic, yet also subdued and introspective as he looks back on a life that felt so right as he lived it, but now seems confused and aimless as he reflects upon it.

Some might be put off by the similarities to “In Bruges,” and others may be turned away by its cynical worldview, its seeming belief that peaceful protests can be ignored and violence is the only true answer to inspire change. But what Martin McDonagh delivers in “Wild Horse Nine” is unlike anything else being made today, functioning both as a gripping crime thriller and an elegiac contemplation of death with plenty of humor to keep the material from becoming too heavy.

“Wild Horse Nine” Directed by Martin McDonagh. Written by Martin McDonagh. Starring John Malkovich, Sam Rockwell, Steve Buscemi, Tom Waits, Parker Posey. Running Time: 117 Minutes. Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller. Rated R for pervasive language, some strong violence, drug use and sexual references.