Wild Horse Nine makes you adore bromances again. Buddy comedies are a popular genre because we like seeing men fall in love platonically. However, the genre has become fairly standard.
You can predict the outcome of almost all of them within the first three minutes.
That doesn’t necessarily mean that’s a bad thing. Buddy comedies are comfort movies. Nonetheless, we crave films that work within their genre to give us something a bit more unique than what we’ve seen recently.
Even better when it feels like a homage to some classic buddy movies.
Wild Horse Nine follows two hitmen as they take a trip to Easter Island to complete one last mission together. It’s also happening during a time of a major political uprising in Chile.
The film blends historical fiction with the anatomy of a buddy outlaw comedy.
This movie has traces of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Despite echoes of classic films, this movie mostly feels like a Martin McDonagh movie. He knows how to create age-gap male friendships well.
You know the banter will be sharp, the love deep, and the musing on life, friendship, and loyalty will stand out. His latest film has all the bones of some of his older work.
However, unlike his Oscar-nominated The Banshees of Inisherin, this is about a friendship torn apart by circumstance, not choice. That makes a difference.
The Banshees of Inisherin is a tragic love story because one character decides that he wants to stop wasting his days with another character. This forces one to become fully alone.
Wild Horse Nine is a tragic love story about one man wanting to make another man less lonely during an important event in his life. It’s a pure love that can only be forged in a long history.
Chris and Lee’s friendship is what makes this film worth watching. You come to care about each man and their friendship.
This story works because of John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell’s performances. Malkovich is especially brilliant, and this may win him his first Academy Award.
His performance really transports you. Chris is infuriating at times, earnest at others, complicated and captivating. It’s the type of performance that delivers equally impressive small and large moments.
His work in Wild Horse Nine is deserving of many awards, and it will be a crime if he isn’t even considered.
The acting and chemistry between Rockwell and Malkovich carry the movie. Unfortunately, this isn’t as strong of a film narratively as some of McDonagh’s others.
It’s a good movie, but In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths, and The Banshees of Inisherin, to name a few, are great movies. There are some expectations and anticipation with his films. Therefore, those with high expectations going into his latest may find themselves disappointed.
However, the performances really are special enough to make this movie a must-watch fall film.
I saw Wild Horse Nine early at the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival, and you can catch it in theaters nationwide on November 6.
