Wild Horse Nine movie review

I have probably never believed an actor more than John Malkovich that the world is inevitably going to go to the dogs. The “Con Air” psychopath, who has already been nominated for two Oscars for “A Place in the Heart” and “In The Line Of Fire”, plays Chris, a CIA agent with memory lapses and a brain tumor who is tired of always lying. On his last remaining days in 1973, on Easter Island of all places, he spoke the truth:

No matter how many people take to the streets for democracy in Chile, its first elected president, Salvador Allende, will be shot either way on September 11th. For thousands of young demonstrators being rounded up by the military at the National Stadium in Santiago, this means torture and death. It’s difficult not to fall into defeatist cynicism. “Wild Horse Nine” is actually a comedy! Or?

Professional killers or CIA agents – but actually they’re all the same thing

After the professional killers in “See Bruges… and Die?” and the one-sided-suddenly-no-longer-best-friends in “The Banshees Of Inisherin”, Martin McDonagh once again tells of a male friendship that was mercilessly fucked up, but no less touching for that. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson probably don’t play the lead roles for the third time because the director’s Irish countrymen wouldn’t have easily passed for seasoned CIA veterans.

But John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell (“Moon”) are at least equal – especially when it comes to comedic timing, when a bone-dry, cynical firework of punchlines is set off right at the beginning at the airport in Santiago. Chris frankly tells a left-wing student (Mariana Di Girólamo) that they are here as CIA agents to “destabilize democracy in Chile,” and his younger superior Lee (Rockwell) does everything he can to somehow capture the situation. Luckily, no one believes the grumpy old man anyway.

It’s absolutely touching how Lee cares about his mentor – and, if necessary, puts aside all responsibility towards the CIA and his wife Marge (Parker Posey), who is cheating with an (ex-)clown. Almost like someone who puts their job on hold to personally look after a very good fatherly friend instead of sending him to the home. Except in this case, the fatherly friend is running around with a literally and, even worse, metaphorically loaded cannon. After all, Chris has a lot of CIA secrets stashed in his head, possibly even some about the Kennedy assassination.

That’s why South America boss MJ (Steve Buscemi) is particularly keen to get the problem resolved as quickly as possible, before Chris possibly gets the idea of ​​actually starting his memoirs. The initial constant fire of cynicism and insults gradually gives way to a more thoughtful mood. Instead of quick punchlines about the number of people he has murdered in his career, Chris sinks more and more into a wistful, melancholic philosophical mode. However, in addition to pondering questions like whether moths go to heaven, there are also a lot of brilliant Dadaist bon mots.

Biting, touching dialogues to make you kneel down

For example, in a long discussion about the connection between the level of democracy, the number of gays and the quality of the cheese. The thing with the Gouda and the Emmentaler is almost inevitably reminiscent of the royale-with-cheese discussion from “Pulp Fiction,” which also takes place in the car between two professional murderers, except that although Martin McDonagh writes dialogues that are just as polished and precise as Quentin Tarantino, the director of “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” usually has even more to it. Because as Chris once soberly notes, you only need to look at one of the big heads – the others all look the same anyway. This makes Easter Island the perfect setting for a good dose of self-reflection.

As if he were the protagonist of Christopher Nolan’s amnesia mindfuck “Memento”, Chris also carries a note in his pocket that says “Lee is not to be trusted” – coupled with the CIA’s occupational disease paranoia, this cryptic memory doesn’t necessarily make the relationship between the state-sanctioned killer colleagues any easier, but it only makes Lee’s care despite the constant mistrust seem even more impressive. “Wild Horse Nine” delivers one of the most beautiful screen friendships in a long time – between two men who jet around the globe together in order to plunge the world into chaos for as long as possible on behalf of their country.

Conclusion: Rarely has one seen a film that is more pessimistic about the state of the world and its chances, but at the same time radiates such poetic humanity – also because John Malkovich delivers perhaps the best performance of his career here. And if you’re now too worried about your good mood for the rest of the evening: Martin McDonagh not only lets his audience leave the cinema with lots of uproarious laughter, but also, at the end of the painfully cynical reality check, with a cathartic, bloody finale.

We saw Wild Horse Nine at the Venice Film Festival, where it had its world premiere as part of the official competition.