“In Bruges on Easter Island”: McDonagh’s New Crime Film Recycles His Own Formula
“Bruggy na Velikonočním ostrově” — “In Bruges on Easter Island” — is how one moviezone.cz reviewer described Martin McDonagh’s latest film, Divoký kůň Devítka, and the comparison lands. The Irish playwright-turned-director has returned with a star-studded crime picture in which characters trade words instead of bullets, moviezone.cz reported.
McDonagh, a predominantly theatre director with several Oscar nominations, already holds the Academy Award for a short film. His four feature films to date are widely regarded as among the best mid-budget auteur dialogue films of recent years, the outlet noted. The question now hanging over Divoký kůň Devítka is whether it can finally bring him an Oscar for a feature.
Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich Carry the Dialogue
The new film is a lightly reworked variation on McDonagh’s first hit, V Bruggách (In Bruges), and his signature authorial hand is impossible to miss, moviezone.cz reported: black humor, occasional but unrelenting violence, and brisk dialogue shootouts. Those exchanges are handled by Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich, with Malkovich’s blend of deadpan delivery and manic abandon described as perfectly captivating.
McDonagh adds real historical backdrop and, in melancholic moments, reflects on the importance of memory in human life — we do what we seemingly must, but it is through remembering (or rather forgetting) that we become who we are, the review said. Malkovich’s character, a retired CIA agent, embodies a number of American traumas he struggles to process.
Three Reviewers, One Verdict: Solid, Not Revolutionary
moviezone.cz published three takes on the film. Rimsy judged that the CIA motivation is enough for a good film but probably not for a watershed entry in McDonagh’s packed filmography. Mr. Hlad called it perhaps too safe a bet — the only problem with Divoký kůň Devítka — noting that Rockwell and Malkovich, on a small island with nothing but giant stone heads, deal with trivial matters, South American politics, the value of friendship and dark moments of American history. He called the acting flawless and said talk of Malkovich as a serious Oscar contender is not exaggerated, though he would have preferred something bolder next time.
Spooner described the film as a bet on certainty: anyone who has seen at least two McDonagh films knows what to expect and gets exactly that. The plot follows two killers — here CIA agents — who travel to a backwater where one becomes inconvenient and the other must resolve it, repeating familiar story patterns and themes of friendship and reckoning with the past, now wrapped in a more melancholic package with a 1970s visual patina. Even so, the central duo trades one-liners, deepens their characters and rules every frame, with a well-built script that shifts easily to a more serious register in the second half.
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What the Reviews Say About McDonagh’s Trajectory
Across all three reviews, the consensus is that Divoký kůň Devítka delivers McDonagh’s style in its purest form — black comedy, cynical characters, brutal figures and sharply pointed dialogue — but that it is more predictable than his best work. The film balances dark comedy, drama, strong emotion and clever dialogue, and its 1970s atmosphere sets it slightly apart from In Bruges, yet the structural echoes are unmistakable, moviezone.cz reported.
Frequently Asked Questions About Divoký kůň Devítka
Who stars in Martin McDonagh’s new film?
Sam Rockwell and John Malkovich lead the cast, playing CIA agents on a remote island, according to moviezone.cz reviews.
How does the film compare to in Bruges?
One moviezone.cz reviewer summed it up as “In Bruges on Easter Island” — a lightly reworked variation on the director’s first hit, with the same black humor, violence and rapid dialogue.
Is John Malkovich an Oscar contender for this role?
Yes, according to moviezone.cz: one reviewer said reports of Malkovich as a serious Oscar candidate are “not in the least exaggerated,” and another called him bravura-worthy of the award.
Has Martin McDonagh won an Oscar before?
He holds the Academy Award for a short film, moviezone.cz noted, and has multiple Oscar nominations as a theatre director turned filmmaker.
What is the film about?
Two CIA agents travel to a remote location — described as an island with giant stone heads and a 1970s look — where one becomes a problem the other must solve, while the story touches on friendship, memory and dark chapters of American history, the reviews said.
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