Wild Horse Nine (United Kingdom/United States, 2026)

With Wild Horse Nine, Martin McDonagh makes it three in a row. Once again mixing offbeat humor, sudden violence, and unsentimental poignancy, the Irish playwright and filmmaker turns in a worthy follow-up to Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin. One of the best things about McDonagh's films is that you are never quite sure where they are going. Predictability isn't in his DNA. That is the case with Wild Horse Nine, a period piece set in 1973 that has fun with conspiracy theories while following the less-than-glamorous exploits of two CIA operatives exiled to a dead-end post after a botched assignment in Santiago. 

Wild Horse Nine is many things at once. At its heart, however, it is a character study focused on the unconventional relationship between government-employed assassins Lee Chesterfield (Sam Rockwell) and Chris Carlisle (John Malkovich). The former is a trusted asset who still believes in the chain of command, even when his orders make little sense. The latter, once highly placed, has grown erratic with age. He is in possession of dangerous secrets and corroborating physical evidence regarding decades of agency malfeasance. Terminally ill, he has become a liability to the organization he spent his life serving. Chris knows his end is coming, both from his failing body and his employers, and wants to go out on his terms rather than those of his pragmatic bureau chief, MJ (Steve Buscemi). 

"Character study" should not be mistaken for something boring, talky, or static. Although there is a great deal of dialogue in Wild Horse Nine, much of it is punchy and insightful—reminiscent of Quentin Tarantino without the self-awareness or incessant pop-culture references. There is suspense and violence, though the film avoids excessive gore, relying instead on the psychological toll of its characters' profession. Ben Davis' widescreen cinematography makes full use of the location without turning the movie into a travelogue. Framing the characters against the volcanic quarries of Rano Raraku and the moai platforms of Ahu Tongariki, the film does for Easter Island/Rapa Nui what The Banshees of Inisherin did for the Aran Islands.

That is not to say Wild Horse Nine is a perfect film. The quasi-mysticism associated with the island's wild horses feels underdeveloped and lacks a clear purpose within an otherwise grounded script. Most everything else works. Especially engaging is how McDonagh weaves conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination into the plot so that they become more than background color. He also integrates the impending 1973 Chilean coup d'état against President Salvador Allende into the narrative fabric. When Chris crosses paths with two idealistic, pro-Allende college students, Monica (Mariana di Girolamo) and Alicia (Ailín Salas), his cynicism collides with their optimism. His subsequent conversation with Monica about what the CIA has planned for her country is chilling in its implications. McDonagh is writing with the benefit of historical hindsight, yet it remains believable that an operative in Chris' position would possess this exact intelligence. 

A majority of the film transpires on Rapa Nui, and McDonagh uses the remote setting to strong effect. More than a decade ago, he visited the island as a tourist and became convinced that the geographic isolation and the presence of the moai monoliths would make an ideal backdrop for a story about men at the end of the line. It took time for him to develop the right narrative hook. To populate the film, he turned to frequent collaborator Rockwell and teamed him with Malkovich, who won the Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and is deserving of further recognition for this unpredictable, intense performance. Malkovich plays Chris not as a stock espionage veteran, but as a man cycling through regret, dark amusement, and defiance, while Rockwell serves as an effective foil, balancing loyalty to his mentor against self-preservation. These two are the heart and soul of Wild Horse Nine, and their banter drives the film. Supporting performers include Buscemi (who stepped in at the last minute when Mark Ruffalo had a scheduling conflict), di Girolamo, and Salas, with Parker Posey and Tom Waits appearing in extended cameos that add eccentricity to the margins of the story. 

McDonagh's first two features, In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths, could be criticized for pairing strong premises with weak endings. He has since evolved, and the final scenes of Wild Horse Nine are among its strongest, bringing the political and personal threads to a satisfying resolution. Additionally, the derivative elements of his early work have been sanded down. Beginning with Three Billboards, McDonagh found his own voice, and it remains evident here. With its balance of comedy, tragedy, and tension, this is a strong entry from one of today's most reliable filmmakers.

Wild Horse Nine (United Kingdom/United States, 2026)